Genesis
by Broppy's-Little-Girl
Summary: It has been many years since the Trolls and Bergen's had made peace. Branch, Poppy and the Snack Pack all have beautiful families. Now that most of their kids are teens, things just got a tad more complicated. But little do they know this is just the beginning of a long road full of twists, turns, new faces, and secrets. Many secrets. (Try it? Rated T for dark themes and stuff)
1. Ugh

**Hello everyone! I know for those of you who have read my other stories, I'm really sorry for being on kind of a hiatus when it comes to story writing. For the months I have been gone I have been working on this huge story which is the one you see right here!**

 **So it all started with a simple Broppy child I had created at the beginning of this year and I ended up with this huge story idea.**

 **Now, there are tons of OC's in this story with completely different personalities and they all contribute. It is more of a next generation story so Broppy won't be the main focus. There are a lot of main characters, however.**

 **That is all for now! Enjoy the first chapter!**

* * *

"Maddy?" Maddy buried herself deeper into the covers when she heard her mother's voice.

"Ughhhh!"

"Madison?" Poppy tried.

Even worse. "Whattt?" she moaned.

"It's time to get out of bed, honey."

"Whyyyy?"

"It's the first day of school, remember?"

That just made her feel even worse. "Don't wanna, I'll pass," she mumbled. School was not her cup of tea. It never had been.

"Sorry to break it to you, but school is necessary," Poppy said, lifting the covers to see a grumpy Maddy. She had her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed. "My, how you look like your father when you make that face," she giggled.

Although she did have her mother's color, she did look like Branch in the face. She was a darker pink, about the color of Poppy's hair. Her hair was a dark purple color that did not go straight up so she always wore it in a ponytail, and it was topped with a red had she had gotten when she was three. Her nose matched her purple hair and she had bright blue eyes.

"No I don't," she designed softly.

Poppy just laughed again, running a finger through her nedhead and kissing her forehead. "C'mon, you don't want to be late for your first day of your sophomore year."

When Poppy made her exit Maddy decided it was best to just get up and get ready before her father came in.

Just as she took off her pajamas, in ran a big ball of purple fuzz. "Maddy!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"AH!" she covered herself up. "Z-Zander! G-Get out!"

Zander- short for Alexander- was five years old and just starting kindergarten. He was more like Poppy than any of their kids. He was a dark purple, slightly darker than Maddy's hair, and had pink hair and a pink nose. Although he only had Branch's eyes, he was the one that looked much like him. His head was also chubby like his fathers, and he strives everyday to be like him. He did not wear a short, just orange shorts.

"Oops! Sorry," he smiled bashfully, closing the door again and running across the hall, calling for their oldest brother. "Elliot!"

Maddy calmed herself down, slipping on her light purple baggy shorts. Then her striped black and yellow tank top that reminded Branch of a bumblebee, and that had been his nickname for her since she was very young. To top it, she slipped on her blue vest, brushed her hair, put it in a ponytail, and put her hat on. Appearance did not mean much to her, and she had no interest in makeup. She did not prefer to shove on pounds of makeup that would only wear out through the course of the day.

When she opened the door a blast of her oldest brother, Elliot's, cooking filled her nostrils. She smiled. Elliot was an amazing cook. He was many things.

His color was a light blue- slightly lighter than Branch's skin- and his hair was not much darker than that. His nose was pink as Zander's, and he had Poppy's purple pink eyes. He was the type that was into nature, and respected all of it. He even had a pet mouse, Cardigan, that was too big for the house so he stayed in the stables that he and Branch had spent a weekend putting together. The mouse was no trouble. He helped with a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to building new pods.

Back to Elliot. Nevertheless, Elliot had more freckles than any troll in the troll village. He was covered in them. His cheeks, of course, as well as both of his ears, shoulders, elbows, neck, and even some on his back and chest. This is why he liked to wear a brown scarf to cover the freckles on his neck. He had put a scarf on Cardigan, too, as well as a green and red beanie he sewed together. He also wore green shorts and brown boots that had a green leaf design. He also had a girlfriend named Lexi, who his family hadn't met yet. Maddy was beginning to think Lexi was imaginary.

When Maddy came downstairs she was greeted by Branch, who stood next to Elliot. "Good morning, Bumblebee!" he smiled.

* * *

Zander was eager to start his first day. He talked at a rather fast pace as he ate his pancakes, pouring way too much syrup and butter.

"Slow down," Poppy advised.

Elliot also poured a lot of syrup and had about five pancakes. To Maddy and Poppy, both of their appetites were disgusting.

"Growing boys," Branch chuckled.

Poppy sipped her orange juice and rolled her eyes at her husband playfully. "So are you guys ready for your first day?" she asked.

It had been a big year for Elliot and Zander. Elliot was starting his senior year while Zander was just starting school to begin with. It was not a big year for Maddy, so she had nothing much to say about it all.

Once the family finished breakfast, Poppy took Zander to school and Maddy and Elliot were ready to go.

When Maddy opened the door to head out she was greeted by purple flowers. She sighed, picking them up and reading the note. _They reminded me of your hair! You're welcome ;) -Halo_

She sighed. Halo was always doing this kind of stuff. The young troll stood about to Elliot's shoulder. His color was orange, his hair a darker orange that it almost looked red. He had brown eyes, a blue nose, a great sense of humor, and was a hopeless romantic. He was only after one girl, and that was Maddy. The main problem with Halo was that he could not take a hint. He didn't understand that when Maddy said no it meant _no_. But he kept trying, his spirits up high.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked. "Ooo, more flowers from your little boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Maddy said flatly.

"Yeah. Huh uh."

"Yeah!"

"Yeah."

Her patience wore thin. Now he was just mocking her. "Yes!"

Elliot cleared his throat. "All joking aside, why don't you just give the poor guy a chance. He may surprise you."

Maddy snorted. "Surprise me?"

"You're never impressed, are you?" asked her brother.

"Well-"

"Let's just go. Leave the flowers, unlike you Mom may want them."

Maddy nodded, putting the rose on the table- unsure where else to put them. Without any other words, they slipped out the door. "Good morning Prince Elliot, Princess Maddy," said a green troll, nodding towards them politely. Well, you could only seen green feet but they knew the voice. His face and body were blocked by a large pot.

"Good morning Pip," Elliot said. "Need a hand?"

"Yes, that'll be great. Thank you."

Maddy lost interest pretty quickly. Elliot looked like he got this one.

She smiled when she saw a familiar glittery troll. Her best friend, Sparkie. She was the daughter of DJ Suki and Guy Diamond. She had glitter all over her, but did not prefer to be naked. Instead, she wore a white turtleneck sweater with a red heart on it and hot pink shorts with light blue boots with white polka dots on them. She had to have the messiest hair in the whole troll tree. It was a bright orange color like her mother's. It almost made others believe she never brushed it, but Maddy could tell you fair and square that she did, judging by how many sleepovers they had over the years. As for her eyes, they were two different colors: her right one was pink, while the left one was blue. Her nose was exactly the same as her Dad's- a bright lime color.

Sparkie was the type that liked to read just about every book the library had to offer. She never got into any trouble, and always had perfect grades. Maddy couldn't say they had similar interests, but that is what made them such great friends. Opposites did attract. The one problem Maddy did have with her is that Sparkie had low self confidence. Well, not directly with her, it was just something she had lacked.

"Hi Sparkie!" she waved, approaching her.

"Hey, Maddy," said the glittery troll, smiling at her friend. "Did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"Seth is back!"

Maddy's face dropped and formed a scowl. "Oh…"

He was navy blue with green eyes, a green nose, creamy yellow hair and purple tips. He wore a purple shirt that was always unbuttoned and red shorts. When he wasn't causing trouble he was the trouble. His name was Seth, and ironically he was Chenilles only son. He was nothing like her.

As of two years ago, Seth had been sent to a special school to help discipline him. Dating back to elementary school, he had been picking numerous fights with numerous trolls. Rather than fear him most would want to be him.

Seth always used to walked around like he was the coolest kid in the troll tree. Some thought so, too. Girls in particular. Girls were definitely his area, he loved girls. If only he could make them love him. Before they could be in love he'd drop them just like that, and he didn't even appear to care about their feelings. Back in middle school, if one were to see a girl crying, it was most likely because of Seth. He didn't care about school all that much, either. He thought it was a waste of time but his mother forced him to go.

"So what's the good news…?"

Sparkie chuckled. "Maybe he is better now. You gotta give him a chance."

Maddy huffed. She and Seth had never gotten along, even when they were very little. "What if he hasn't changed?"

"If he didn't change why would they send him back to the troll tree?"

"Dunno. Maybe they couldn't deal with them either," she shrugged while Sparkie looked amused.

"Hello girls!"

Here came another troll Maddy disliked. Seth's cousin, Chloe. Aka Satin's daughter. She was tall and slender, taller than most female trolls her age. She had pink skin like her mother's and her hair was a lighter pink. Her eyes and nose where bright yellow, and she wore a red glittery dress with white stars on it. To top her look, she wore silver earrings.

She was mostly known as the gossip girl of their grade. Well, pretty much the entire troll tree. She loved great gossip. Other than that, her number one dream was to be a Queen, which Maddy could not understand. Wasn't being a princess torture enough?!

"What do you want?" Maddy asked flatly, her ears droopier than usual.

"I just wanted to informally invite you to my one woman show Friday night!" She handed Maddy and Sparkie a pink flyer.

"One woman show?! Chloe, that is the talent show! It isn't all about you!"

Chloe fluttered her eyelashes and giggled. "Oh, but can't we just imagine it is?"

"No," Maddy said, crossing her arms.

"We can!" Sparkie spoke up. " _Right_ Maddy?!"

"But the talent show isn't starting for another two weeks! Auditions aren't for another few days," she protested. "This isn't even real!" She shoved the flyer in the tall trolls face as Sparkie continued to look at it.

"It looks real," Sparkie murmured.

"Of course it does," said the pink troll.

Maddy rolled her eyes. "Well _bye_!"

Chloe held her heart. "Whats wrong Madison?"

"Leave!"

Sparkie clenched her teeth together, gripping her friend's shoulders. "It's alright, Chloe. You can stay a while…"

"Ah, ah, ah, the princess wants what the princess wants." She pushed past them and walked away. Before she was out of site, she smiled over her shoulder. "Just don't rain on _my_ parade!" Her eyes were now bright with excitement. "Don't rain on my parade! That's it!"

And suddenly, she was out of sight.

"UGH!" Maddy bursted out. "She's so...so...ugh! I swear one day I'm going to take those pink arms and rip them off her pink body!"

"Maddy."

"And then...and then I'll slap her face with her own hands! And then I'm-"

"Maddy!" Sparkie said through her teeth. "People are looking!"

Suddenly a thousand pairs of eyes were on her, just staring at her. Elliot looked rather embarrassed. He hid his face in his scarf and looked away, walking in the direction of their school.

Maddy cleared her throat and smiled awkwardly. They studied the princess up and down before rezoning their day. Sparkie dragged Maddy away and they continued their walk to school.

"You need to stop drawing so much attention to yourself," Sparkie nagged.

"What's the point? They stare at me. It isn't my fault I'm the princess."

"I never said that. You could be less loud."

 _That isn't my fault either…_

She did get her loudness from her mother. Zander was like that, too. Elliot was more quiet and preserved like Branch. He wasn't like most trolls his age. He was more mature than that. He sat down on the couch and read most of the time. If he wasn't reading he was out taking care of Cardigan or studying whatever animal wandered by. And at night, he would study the stars. He was the type that didn't need friends. He had his family and his girlfriend and his mouse. That was all he needed. Maddy wished she was more independent like that. She tried to be, yet one of her biggest fears was being alone.

* * *

When they finally entered the large pod that was school, a new presence walked beside Sparkie and Maddy: Halo. He opened the door for them, like any gentleman would. Once they had gone in, the orange troll stood rather closely to Maddy so that she felt his hot breath hit her shoulder. "Halo! Personal space please!"

"Sorry honeybun!" He grinned nervously. "Honeybun" had always been what Halo had called her, as long as she could remember. It was annoying, but every time she said it she felt her ears go hot.

"Don't call me that…"

The trio's first stop was the get their lockers. There was no assigned lockers so Maddy and Sparkie could have theirs next to each other just as they did last year. Halo took the locker next to Maddy before anyone else could. He did the same thing freshman year and the year before that, so Maddy had grown used to it.

"We ought to get our schedule," said Maddy, "The bell will ring soon and you know how crowded…" She paused when she saw a rather large crowd waving their hands and trying to get through. Some were asking numerous questions while others in the front stood wide eyed while a rather deep, male voice spoke.

"What's going on?" Halo asked.

"Ugh, why are they all paying attention to _him_ when they should be crowding me!" Chloe dramatically fell into Halo's arms.

"Where did you come from?" The orange troll asked.

Chloe ignored his question. "Didn't you hear? Seth is back!"

"I have heard," said Sparkie.

"Me too, unfortunately." Maddy should have known that the large crowd was because of Seth.

"His voice got way deeper…" Sparkie said, blinking a few times.

It wasn't long until the bell had rung and the crowd was beginning to disappear, finally revealing Seth. The teenage troll had his arms crossed and was leaned up against his locker. He was smirking that smirk, just like he always had before he had left. Two years could change someone. Not in personality but in looks. Even Maddy could admit that he looked a lot more grown up than when he had left. He was muscular and taller now.

Then he spoke. "Hello Madison!"

Maddy growled. "Didn't I tell you _not_ to call me that a long time ago?!"

"Yes...but did I listen?"

"Of course not," said Chloe before Maddy could say anything. She looked more amused than angry. "Welcome back Seth!" She hugged her cousin quickly before heading to class.

"Hi Seth!" Halo said. "It's nice to see you again," he said. Halo always did his best to be nice to Seth because he never knew if anything happened behind closed doors. Maddy didn't care much about that because she was sure as the sun everything was fine. If it wasn't, why be a jerk? Why take it out on innocent trolls? Maddy never stopped to think about it so, unlike Halo, she wasn't staring today.

Seth gave him a nod before looking at Sparkie and smirking. "What's wrong Sparkles? Cat got your tongue…?"

Sparkie's mouth was hung open for quite a while until Maddy elbowed her. "N-No...welcome back." She gave him a brisk nod, hiding her red face in her turtleneck before they walked off to get their schedules. They were probably going to be late. Although he knew it too, Seth stayed where he was. He always came in late. Some things never changed.

* * *

The day had dragged on forever. Maddy had only seen Sparkie once and that was for first period. Seth was in her English class, which sucked. Chloe was there too, which also sucked. The teacher made a terrible mistake by placing Chloe right in the back of Maddy and Seth in the front.

"Ow!" Maddy yelped when she felt a tug on her hair. "Stop pulling my hair!"

Chloe giggled. "Sorry, I can't help it! It's so soft!"

"Well stop!"

Then Seth turned around. "Can I borrow a pencil?"

"No."

He pouted. "And why not?"

"Because," she answered simply.

"Because why?"

"Because- ow! Chloe!"

"I'm getting the feeling I'm hurting you...?" Chloe asked.

" _Yes_! My gosh, you don't know your own strength!" Maddy took her hat off and began to rub her head. Mr. Phillips did not appear to care about what had just happened so Maddy decided to let it go as he proceeded to tell the classroom rules. She sighed and let herself ponder whether or not she could stand Seth or Chloe. Both of them were hard to bear. Seth had not changed at all since he left. He was still the cockiest troll she had ever encountered. Chloe had been the Queen of one thing, and that was drama. That was the only Queen _she_ would ever be, Maddy thought.

And that, other than boring science, had been her day. She hadn't had that class with any of her friends so it was very lonely.

Her last class before lunch was math. Ugh. She stopped when she saw Seth enter the classroom pod. Double ugh. Maddy approached the classroom pod sluggishly, hoping this would go by fast so she could just get to lunch already. "Honeybun!"

Maddy jumped when she heard Halo's voice. "Hi!"

"Hey," she said nonchalantly.

Before she could open the door he smiled and opened it for her. "Ladies first!"

Maddy sighed as she walked in the classroom pod. When she peered the classroom she was happy to know that Sparkie was in this class as well. She raced to her friend and took a seat next to her before anyone else could. Halo was hot on her heels and sat next to her.

"Look who's here," Sparkie said, pointing to the direction of Chloe, followed by her friend Coral.

"Ugh, again? I just had a class with both her and Seth. She wouldn't stop pulling my hair!"

"Well at least Coral is in this class," Halo said.

Coral was nice enough. Her full name was Coral Blue because of her hair color, that was always put up in pigtail buns. Her skin color was yellow and she had the biggest deep blue eyes anyone had ever seen. She wore a flower headband that was orange to match the scrunchies that held up her hair, and the flower was purple. Her dress was striped and the colors were lime green and purple; she also wore red heart earrings. Maddy didn't know much about Coral other than she was Chloe's best friend. That and she was a bit clumsy and awkward but aren't we all?

Maddy just couldn't see how Coral could put up with Chloe and her drama. They were complete opposites. She could see Coral in more of a group of girls that were actually nice, got good grades, and had pillow fights.

But it was not her place to tell the yellow troll where she belonged, so she stayed out of it. Her and Sparkie were opposites, and they were closer than ever.

When Coral's gaze met Seth's, Maddy knew exactly what was going to happen, and Coral's fate was doomed. She smiled at him shyly, playing with her hair. When Chloe had saw this she moved her friend along.

"He's nothing but trouble," Chloe was saying. Seth was still smirking, watching them get to where they wanted to sit which was a few rows behind Maddy, Sparkie, and Halo.

Maddy couldn't help but feel proud of Chloe for doing that. Maybe she wasn't so bad.

Seth had took his seat right behind Coral.

Chloe huffed.

Their teacher got up from his desk and wrote down his name on the whiteboard. It read Mr. Malcolm. It had a nice ring to it.

Mr. Malcolm was a indigo blue color with brown hair and green eyes and wore black square glasses. He also wore a red suit and tie, with mint green shorts that had the sign for pi. Maddy knew a guy had to be pretty crazy about math if he sewed the pi sign on his shorts.

When he spoke Maddy actually found herself interested. It isn't what he said that interested her, it is what he didn't say. Usually, a teacher would often bore the class with his or her boring stories from the past or talk about themselves but Malcolm did not do that. The first thing he said was "welcome to your sophomore year". Then he had told them this was his first year teaching at the Troll Tree and he was excited for this school year. He was very enthusiastic, Maddy noticed, which was a good quality to have in a teacher.

Maddy raised her hand.

"Yes ma'am?" he smiled.

"You're very weird," Maddy said, making a few trolls snicker. Sparkie giggled too.

He smiled. "And why is that?"

"What I mean is, how come you don't bore us with old stories?"

"I have no stories to tell."

"C'mon! Everyone has a story!" Halo cut in.

"Yeah," Sparkie agreed.

"Do you have any kids?" Maddy asked curiously.

Mr. Malcolm chuckled at the eager students. "Twin girls."

"What are their names?" asked Coral.

"Brooke and Ellie. They are freshman here, they were excited to start high school but glad I wasn't going to be their teacher."

"It makes sense," Seth said. "I mean, if my mom were a teacher…" He shuttered.

Technically, his mother was.

Seth also had a younger sister, Emerald. Most called her Gem. Both names fit for two different reasons. Emerald because it was the exact shade of green that glowed on her skin. Her family had nicknamed her Gem because she wore a gem necklace around her neck. Rather than a dress, she wore a thick sky blue jacket with purple pants and boots. She had a chip in her left ear, which everyone assumed that she was naturally born with because she had no scarrs. Her hair was a purple as her pants and boots, with a little bit of yellow on the tips.

Even though she didn't say a word, Gem was the complete opposite of Seth, Maddy knew. Just by way she looked she knew she wouldn't pull even half the stuff that her brother had. It wasn't fair to say that, however. Gem hadn't talked for as long as anyone could remember, and she only came outside once in a good while but she always held Chenille hand and didn't let go until they reached their pod. It was sad, really, considering the green troll was nearly fourteen. She had no social skills, so she was homeschooled.

"At the troll tree," Seth added softly.

"You've got a wife?" Maddy asked.

"You just want to know everything, don't you?" he chortled.

* * *

"I think I like Mr. Malcolm," Sparkie decided, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "He's nice, dontcha think?"

Maddy nodded. He sure did stand out from the other teachers. She couldn't help but feel like he was hiding something. "Yeah," she finally agreed after thinking it over. "He seems oddly preserved, though."

"You've gotta respect his privacy."

"The old man is a loon," Seth interrupted their conversation, taking a seat across from them.

"What do you want now?" Maddy sighed.

"Be nice," Sparkie said. "Hi Seth!" she chirped.

"Hi, Sparkles. See Madison? Some people are happy I am back."

"It's Sparkie," she corrected him gently.

"It's Maddy!" Maddy corrected irritably.

"Well I was just trying to be friendly," said Seth mockingly. "I mean, isn't Maddison you're real name…?"

"It is! But you know I prefer Maddy! If you don't call me by my name, at least call Sparkie by her real name."

"That sounds fair," he said. "But we'll see." His gaze once again met Coral's, who had just gotten her lunch with Chloe. He stood up.

"Going to flirt?" Maddy guessed.

"Wish me luck?" he asked, once again smirking.

"No."

"Whatever. I don't even _need_ luck!"

"What a fool of himself!" Maddy said as she watched him approach Coral.

Sparkie watched him contently.

"I mean, Coral is way too good for someone like Seth," she continued. "She deserves better."

"I agree," Sparkie said, finally. Maddy knew that her friend was quite impressed with Seth's return. Even she had to admit that he was a handsome troll, but that did not make her like him anymore than she did before. And neither would Sparkie.

The two observed and found that Seth still had it. He and Coral seem to hit it off nicely, but Maddy doubted it was going anywhere. Chloe had her arms crossed, knowing just as well as Maddy what was going to happen.

"Hi guys!" Halo said, setting down his lunch and sitting next to Maddy. Once again invading her personal space. He put his arm around her.

"Off," she grumped.

He pouted, removing his arm and putting it to his side and staring at his feet. "I wish you would go out with me…" he muttered.

"In your dreams!"

"Please," he begged. "Just one date!"

"Read my lips: not. Interested."

Sparkie laughed. "You two are cute."

"Cute? We aren't _cute_ ," Maddy protested.

" _I_ think we would be cute," Halo smjled. "You're such a cute bun bun. Especially when you get mad…" He sighed lovingly.

Maddy felt the blood rush to her cheeks quickly.

"N-No I'm not!"

"Here he comes," Sparkie said.

Seth had returned smirking like an idiot. "I got myself a date Friday night!"

"Awesome," Halo smiled.

Maddy rolled her eyes but then smiled fakely. "Ohhh what are you two gonna do? I assume you have it all planned! Dinner, movie, passionate love making, then it is on to the next girl right? Just remember to use protection, don't want any Seth Jr's."

Sparkie's eyes went big, as well as Halo's.

Then it was Seth's turn to smile fakely. "You know what Maddison? I think you have been a naughty girl. Even naughtier than me! Why don't you have some milk…"

Seth took the milk from his tray he had left behind when he had gone to talk to Coral, and poured it all over Maddy's hat. It leaked all the way down to her legs. Her eyes were tightly closed, and they stayed that way for a long while.

Halo gasped. "I-I'll get a napkin..."

"Sit down!" Maddy felt around and griped his wrist. She then felt around for the napkin. She felt around before wiping her face, meeting Seth's gaze. "SETH!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, wanting nothing more but to choke him. Before she could lurch herself towards them she was held back by both Halo and Sparkie. "Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!"

"No one is killing anyone," Sparkie said, trying her hardest to stay calm.

"I WILL kill him!"

Maddy managed to wiggle out of their grip, coming to a realization that if she beat him up she would end up like Seth, so instead she took Halo's spaghetti and threw it right in a once laughing Seth's face.

Maddy smiled innocently, putting her arms behind her back. "Awww your face looks so cute now that it's covered in spaghetti! No one can look at it now!"

Seth growled. "Like your face brightens _my_ day!" He took some carrot cake from his plate. "Time for some dessert!" He grinned, smearing the cake all over her face so some even went up her nose and into her mouth.

She spit it right on his face. "Ew!"

"Yeah! Ew!" she laughed. "Now you are infested with countless Maddy germs!"

"Don't you mean _Madison_ germs!?"

"Say that again," Maddy said.

"What?"

"Say that again!" she repeated, clenching her fist together.

"Oh," he said innocently, putting his finger to his chin and pretending to think. "Madison germs was it…?"

"That's it!" Maddy was an inch away from beating the life out of him until an unfriendly voice ended the madness.

"What's wrong with you two?!" asked one of the lunch ladies, pulling Maddy off of him. "Principal's office, _now_!"

* * *

Seth had entered Principal Jenkins office pod confidently until he realized his mother was sitting in the chair near the principal.

His eyes widened. "Yeesh…" He backed away slowly but sighed when Chenille gripped his wrist.

"Don't even think about it," she said warningly in a voice that had secretly scared him.

Maddy smirked. "You'd better listen to your mommy, Mama's boy!"

"And you'd better listen to your mother too, Madison!"

Maddy gulped when she heard Poppy's voice. It was similar to the tone Chenille used with Seth but it was louder and almost scarier. Poppy sat down in the seat next to Chenille.

"Now what is this about?" Poppy asked.

When Principal Jenkins explained the story, both mother's had their eyes narrowed at their children. It had definitely been worse for Seth, who had just gotten back from a school who had taught him how to deal with this stuff and now he went and did it over again.

Now it was time to him to work his charm. "I didn't do anything to hurt Maddy, sir," Seth said in a fake, pleading voice. "Not a thing! I was just standing there and she just started saying mean words to me! She lurched herself towards me, I was so scared!"

"He's lying!" Maddy protested. "He wasn't scared!"

"Did you lurch towards him, though?" Poppy asked firmly.

"No," she lied.

" _Madison_."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "But he's lying about him not doing anything! He knew what he was doing, he spilt milk all over me! I have the stain to prove it!"

Chenille looked at Maddy and studied her up and down. "She's right."

Seth snorted. "Cmon mom! Anyone could have done that!"

"Principal Jenkins," Chenille spoke up. "Seth made a mistake. We all make mistakes…"

 _Why is she defending him?!_

"Do you think you can just drop it?"

"Mam-"

"Just this one time!" she begged. "Seth is a good boy, I know that."

Maddy crossed her arms and folded her arms, shaking her head slowly. _Lies. All lies._

"I agree with Chenille," Poppy said.

 _Of course you would…_

"Do you think if Maddy apologizes to Seth and Seth apologizes to Maddy this can all be over?"

Principal Jenkins thought until nodding. "Very well, but if it happens again there will be harsher consequences!" Maddy and Seth were relieved until he said this: "But I will have to require them both with detention the rest of this week."

"I understand," said Chenille.

"I think that is fair," said Poppy.

Seth and Maddy's _very_ audible groans could be heard from miles away, and they knew just by the look their mothers gave them they were in for a long ride.

But this really was a tiny fraction of it all.

This was just an average day (minus the detention park). So buckle up and enjoy the ride, because the rest is kind of a long story.

* * *

 **That's the wrap! I really hope you enjoyed this because I enjoyed writing it! So as you can see this was from Maddy's point of view. It won't be like that for every chapter, sometimes it'll be Elliot's or Zander's or even Sparkie's and Seth's.**

 **At this point you probably hate Seth and Chloe XD That is completely fine tho! But by the end if this thing I guarantee you will love them. Maybe not by the end of this book, but I know you will by the time this is all over, I've got three books planned.**

 **Please feel free to tell me what you think! :)**


	2. The D Word

**I am back! Thank you for your comments! Even though there weren't many but I still appreciate those who did and have read it :) I know that the first chapter was kinda a lot because of how many characters I introduced. There is only about two more I am introducing in this one, so dont worry XD**

 **Before you read, I forgot to say in the last chapter that if you read "A Mother's Love" (a one-shot I published that felt like a million years ago) Elliot is in this story as well! But as you notice his design changed a lot since then.**

 **So here is the chapter! :D**

* * *

"Don't pick at your food," Branch nagged, nudging Maddy's shoulder. He wasn't too keen when Poppy had told her what happened with Seth today, and he was still coming up with her punishment.

Zander picked at his food, too. He couldn't help but feel bad for his sister. For he as well didn't have the greatest first day of school ever. It wasn't quite what he had expected. Elliot seemed to be the only one who actually had a good day.

As he sipped his milk he began to reflect on and day…

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The classroom pod was one of the most colorful things Zander had ever seen in his life. He tugged at the laces of his backpack eagerly, smiling widely and taking in the beautifulness of it all. He took a seat on the colored carpet. He settled himself down on the green square- his favorite color and the color of his hug time bracelet. He was certain that today was going to be a fantastic day._

 _Once everyone had took their seats, Mrs. Sunny clapped her orange hands together and began to speak. "Hello children! Welcome to your first day of kindergarten! Today we will-" The teacher was cut off when an unfamiliar little troll bursted through the door._

" _I'm here!" she announced to the class rather loudly. Zander's ears rang a little bit, for not even he was this loud._

" _Um...Do you have a pass, sweetie?" Mrs. Sunny asked. Zander sensed that she felt awkward in asking the question but she still smiled._

 _The lime green troll chuckled. "Pass? What is this place?"_

" _School, stupid!" said one of the little girls. She was a yellow troll who wore a blue dress. Zander was told many times that stupid was not a nice word, but the yellow troll said it anyways and she meant it._

" _Well, that's not nice, she just-" Zander began._

 _The girl looked bored now. She ignored the yellow troll's comment. "No, I don't have a pass. I'm new here."_

 _Mrs. Sunny smiled. "That is quite alright, we are all new."_

" _We're all in this together!" sang the little trolls while the green troll rolled her hazel eyes._

" _Oh brother," she sighed as she took a seat on the red square that matched her fire red hair, that was fashioned in a messy bun. She wore purple overalls with a red shirt under them that matched both her hair, nose, and hug time bracelet. The scrunchy holding her hair up matched her overalls. She sat rather isolated from the group and looked about as unhappy as the Bergens used to be._

 _It was more than obvious she did not want to be here, but her attitude towards school in no way influenced Zander. Instead, he crossed his legs and listened contentedly to what Mrs. Sunny had to say._

 _His first ever assignment was to write down his name on a circled paper and decorate it. They had gotten to chose their seats so he sat himself down in a green chair. The desk was green and beautiful, too. He saw the lime green troll sit down at a red desk, isolated from others yet again._

" _Reckon things are rough at home?" whispered the same yellow troll who had called her stupid to her pink friend._

" _You think so, Vexy?"_

" _Maybe so."_

 _Zander cocked his head at the girls. "Rough at home?"_

" _Well," said Vexy, "maybe her Mommy and Daddy are divorcing."_

 _Zander had no idea what it meant, but something about the word make his stomach churn into knots. His little heart began to beat faster and his blue eyes clouded with worry. "Divorcing? What does that mean?"_

" _Poor innocent prince, doesn't even know what divorce means," Vexy laughed._

 _It hurt his feelings that Vexy had talked that way to him as if he were the dumbest troll she had ever seen, but he tried not to let it show. "So…?"_

" _Care to explain it, Holly?"_

 _Holly- he now knew her name- cleared her throat. "Well, a divorce is when a Mommy and a Daddy no longer love each other. So they spit up."_

 _Zander gasped. "That...That's awful!" He glanced back at the girl who had her back faced to him and was focusing on her paper. Praying that was not her case, his gaze went right back to Vexy and Holly. "What about the kids? Where do they go?"_

" _It's different for everyone," Vexy explained. "Sometimes they live with their Mommy's and visit their Daddy's on the weekends. Some with their Daddy's and see their Mommy's every weekend. And, sometimes, they live with their Dad for a month and then their Mom for a month."_

" _Oh...I get it now," said Zander, feeling wiser before but not fully happy with the answer he got. How could parents just stop loving each other? It made absolutely no sense to him. Worry flooded through him of the thought of that happening to his parents. He hated just being away from them now, he couldn't possibly take not seeing both of them every day. Just the thought of it made him feel how the lime green troll looked._

 _Zander let Vexy and Holly talk while he sat in silence and tried to focus on his name tag. He had none of the friends he once played with at daycare in this place, so it almost felt lonely. He never really had this feeling until now, and he did not like it._

 _The next and last project they were assigned to do before lunch was they were to paint a picture of their families and present it to the class. Mrs. Sunny set out the paint right near the lime green troll was, said something no one could hear to her, and walked back to her desk. Whatever the teacher said the girl did not seem to like this because she stuck her tongue out behind her back._

 _Zander took a deep breath before getting up and deciding he wanted to finger paint his picture._

 _Holly stopped him half way. "Careful Zander, she might bite," she warned._

 _He doubted it, but as he got closer it was all he thought about. He was now inches away and when he reached for the paint he made the mistake of grabbing it upside down. Before he knew it his hand was squeezing the bottle and suddenly pink paint squirted sloppily on the red-headed troll._

 _She gasped, getting to her feet as fast as lightning. "My overalls!" All heads turned in their direction, and Zander began to shrink._

" _I-I'm sorry! I-It was an a-accident." He stuttered uncontrollably._

" _What kind of bozo just squirts paint on someone? No one I know! And I will have you know these were my favorite pairs of-"_

 _Mrs. Sunny stood in the middle of them and bent down to their levels. "Now now, what is the trouble?"_

" _He ruined my overalls!"_

 _He felt as though he would start to cry. "I d-didn't do it on purpose! T-The paint was open! A-And I didn't mean t-to squeeze it s-so hard."_

" _It's alright," Mrs. Sunny said calmly, rubbing his back._

" _I'm sorry er...what's your name…?"_

 _The little troll put her hands on her hips. "If you must know, it is Hazel."_

 _Hazel. Matched her eyes, he thought._

 _Before he could say anything Mrs. Sunny had took her hand and led her to the sink where the paper towards were. "I can take it from here, thank you miss teacher," Hazel said, pulling her hands away and wetting the paper towel and applying it to her overalls._

 _Zander still felt bad at this point but sat back down and began to paint._

 _When it was time to present, Zander raised his hand excitedly._

" _Hello," he said to the class, suddenly feeling a bit shy. It was a little bit scary up here. "I'm Zander…" His gaze met Hazel's, and she was still glaring at him. "A-And, um...this is my family." He paused as he held it up. "This is my Daddy, and he's the best Dad in the world!"_

" _Not as much as_ _my_ _Daddy," said Hazel matter-of-factly._

" _Shhh!" said Vexy rather loudly._

" _This is my Mom," he said. "She's a good mom. She takes care of me. She takes care of all of us! I love her a lot." Hazel had no comment to make about that. She did not even look at him._

" _This my brother," he pointed at his painting of Elliot._

 _Hazel did, however, have something to say about his brother. "Why does he have so many dots on him? Is he sick?"_

" _No, he just has a lot of freckles," Zander chuckled._

" _What is that light brown fuzzy thing next to him?"_

" _Hazel," Mrs. Sunny said. "Maybe you should leave your comments and questions for after the presentation."_

 _Hazel huffed, resting her chin on the desk, looking defeated. "Fine, lady."_

" _Anyway, that is Elliot. He is awesome! My sister says he has an imaginary girlfriend," he chuckled._

" _Is THAT what the brown thing is?!" Hazel blurted out._

" _If his girlfriend is imaginary why would he paint her?!" Vexy asked._

 _Hazel furrowed her eyebrows and stood up, letting her hands slam on the desk. "I don't know, maybe because some people have imagination!"_

" _Sit down, please," Mrs. Sunny said._

 _When Hazel took her seat again Zander cleared his throat and continued. "Yeah, the brown thing is Elliot's mouse, Cardigan! He is a lot of fun, and lives in the stables near our pod. When Daddy is in a good mood sometimes he comes in the house! Elliot has to wash his paws, though. I wanna learn to Potty Train him but Elliot says it is impossible." He cleared his throat, realizing that he was rambling again. "Anyway, this is my sister Maddy. She is grumpy sometimes and doesn't like me in my room but she is still nice. And that is my family."_

 _He smiled at the class nervously before they clapped for him. He smiled more confidently, walking back to his seat._

" _I'll go next!" Hazel said, not even waiting for Mrs. Sunny to say anything. As she made her way to the front of the classroom she nearly tripped Zander. Not on purpose, of course. Out of excitement._

 _When Hazel unfolded her masterpiece Zander was taken by surprise when only a single troll was on the rather large paper they had been given. The troll was red and wore a black jacket and a tank top under. His hair was quite messy. No, he thought, wrong word…_

 _Shaggy?_

 _That's the word. Sparkie's hair was messy._

 _Vexy whispered something to Holly, and Zander shuttered when he heard the dreaded word they had discussed earlier yet again._

" _This is my Daddy," Hazel began, her smile suddenly turning into a sneer when she meet Zander's gaze. "And_ _he's_ _the best Daddy in the world!"_

 _He felt very small._

" _He's really strong, too. He says he works out to impress the ladies if you know what I mean!" she winked._

 _A few trolls snickered._

" _Where's your mom?" Vexy asked, smirking and folding her arms._

 _Hazel looked at her feet. "I don't have one."_

" _Divorced?"_

 _Zander shuttered again._

 _Hazel was just as confused as he had been."What does that mean?"_

 _Mrs. Sunny shook her head at Vexy and smiled at Hazel. "You do not have to answer that, honey."_

" _Oh, it's alright," Hazel shrugged. "She's dead."_

 _It was silent for a moment._

" _I'm very sorry," Mrs. Sunny said heavy heartedly._

 _Zander's heart broke for Hazel. This was worse than divorce. At least with divorce one got to see both of their parents, but Hazel could never see her mother. "I'm sorry too," he said sincerely._

 _Hazel shrugged again. "It's no one's fault. Anywho, my Dad is strong! We like to beat each other up sometimes."_

 _Mrs. Sunny's eyes widened._

" _He lets me win most of the time," she said. "He's a real sore loser about it." When she chuckled Mrs. Sunny began to calm down, realizing she was simply talking about play fighting. "We go on walks a lot, too. He lifts me up over his shoulder so that I can see everything!"_

 _Zander couldn't help but smile. Her Daddy and his Daddy were bound to get along. They were both strong, like to play fight, and liked lifting their children over their shoulders so that they could see the world up above. He smiled at Hazel's energy, too. She let her words flow off her tongue so smoothly, way better than he had done._

" _Above all of his strengths, he is most strong in the heart. I love him and he loves me. He's got my back and I've got his. That is how it'll always be, he told me once. And I believe him."_

 _Zander was the first of everyone to clap. More and more joined in and Hazel grinned all the way to her desk._

 _When lunch finally came around, Zander looked around the cafeteria, unsure where to sit. "Hey Zander!" called a familiar green giraffe-like troll._

" _Hi Junior!" he smiled, setting down his lunch on one of the empty mushroom tables and hugged his friend._

 _Junior was Cooper's son. He had green fur, orange feet, and fuzzy yellow har. They had been friends for as long as he could remember. Junior was loads of fun, just like his father, and wore a colorful hat._

" _I wish we were in the same class," said Junior._

" _Me too," Zander agreed, biting into his pizza._

 _He found himself reddening when he saw Hazel looking at him, only for a moment before he sat by herself. "Hey, Junior, there is this girl in my class. Let's go say hi!"_

" _Ooo you love her don't you?!"_

 _He blushed yet again. "What? No! I just wanted to say hi!"_

" _Mhmm…"_

" _Seriously! Why don't we go sit next to her?"_

" _She looks kinda scary…" Junior admitted, staring at his feet._

 _Judging by the way Hazel stabbed her food with her fork, Zander could understand where that came from. He was still afraid. But he got up anyway. "Cmon Junior!"_

" _Do we have to?" he pouted._

" _Yes! I think she could use a friend."_

 _Junior sighed, picking up his lunch tray with his mouth and heading over to the table._

 _Zander shyly poked at her shoulder. "Hi," he said._

" _Hey."_

" _Can we sit here?"_

" _Why?"_

 _Junior backed up. "Welp we tried!"_

 _Zander pulled him back. "We wanna be your new friends!"_

 _Hazel raised an eyebrow. He knew she still had to be mad about what happened when they first met, and he began to wonder if she would ever forgive him._

 _Nevertheless she let them sit with her, and it was very awkward._

 _Later when Poppy picked him up he was glad the day was over. "How was it?" she asked excitedly, bending down to his level. "How was school? Did you make friends?"_

" _Um…" He glanced at Hazel, who was still glaring and waiting to be picked up. "S-Sort of…"_

" _Well that is good!"_

" _Y-Yeah! L-Let's just go! Hurry!" He took her hand and dragged her all the way to their pod._

* * *

And now here they were. Zander wasn't all that hungry, either.

Elliot had finished his dinner rather quickly. He put his dish in the sink and washed it out. "Hey, Mom? Dad? I'm gonna go take Cardigan for a walk."

"Can I come?" Zander asked.

"No," he said immediately after he asked that. He cleared his throat and smiled a little. "No."

Branch raised an eyebrow. "And why can't your brother come?"

Elliot's eyes went big. He shifted his feet. Oh yes, there was also freckles on his legs. "Well...because…"

"Sneaking out to see your imaginary girlfriend?" Maddy smirked.

"Her name is Lexi," he hissed. "A-And no…"

Branch did not look fooled but he smiled anyway. "Go on."

Poppy gasped. "Elliot-"

"Okay thanks! Bye!" He slipped on his boots and quickly made his way out of the pod.

Poppy glared at her husband, shaking her head and pouting.

"What?" Branch asked.

She turned away from him.

"What?!" he repeated.

Maddy spoke up before Poppy could. "Wow, I cannot believe that you let Elliot get away with lying straight to your faces but I can't stick up for myself when some jerk pours milk on my hat! Yeah, that's so fair!" Maddy put her fork down and stomped upstairs.

"Madison!" Branch snapped. "We still need to discuss your punish-"

 _Slam!_

Branch sighed.

"I can't believe that either," Poppy murmured. "You would never let Maddy get away with that!" She took her plate and rinsed it out just like Elliot had done, and stomped upstairs and slammed the door like Maddy had.

Now, it was no secret that Elliot was Mama's boy and Maddy was Daddy's little girl. Zander was comfortable with both of his parents, who gave him just enough love and is how it had always been, and it had never changed. Poppy and Branch did not argue all that much, but they did, forever, have their disputes about favoritism. Whenever Elliot got in trouble Poppy was the most hard on him, and whenever Maddy got in trouble Branch was the most hard on her. In the end they were just worried for their safety.

At times like these, when Branch let Elliot get away with things that he would never let Maddy get away with, it was obvious that this made both Maddy and Poppy upset with him.

And then there were two.

"Guess it's just me and you buddy," Branch said, smiling at Zander.

Zander was in no mood to talk after witnessing this, so before his father could say anymore he went upstairs and shut the door.

* * *

When Poppy and Branch finally made up it was dark. Elliot still was not home yet and Maddy was still locked in her room, as well as Zander.

When he heard footsteps his lifted his head to see his parents entering the room.

"Hi Zandie," Poppy said.

"Hi."

They both sat down next to him. "We are sorry about what happened at dinner," Branch said softly.

Zander was quiet. He did a lot of thinking for the past few hours. He thought of Hazel. Vexy and Holly were so sure about the whole divorce thing, but they were wrong. She did not even hesitate.

He thought about that word. That evil word.

"Daddy?" he asked, tears prickling in his eyes. "Are you and Mommy gonna get a divorce?"

Branch's eyes widened with concern. He looked longingly at Poppy seeking for help. She looked just as worried as he was because she opened her mouth to say something but closed it.

"Wherever did you learn that word Alexander?" Branch asked, his voice cracking a bit.

"School," he answered softly. "These two girls were talking about it."

"How would they know?" Poppy asked.

Zander shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe they went through it. They did not tell me. But they told me what it meant," he explained.

Poppy took his hand and squeezed it. "Daddy and I love each other very much, don't you worry!" She kissed him on his chubby cheek.

"Yeah," Branch agreed, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder. "If we fight, we will always talk it out. We'll love each other forever."

"Really?" Zander asked excitedly.

"Really," Poppy smiled.

"Okay," Zander said, feeling more relaxed as he got under the covers and his parents tucked him in. "There's this girl in my class," he began, "that wears overalls. I accidentally spilled some paint on them and now I think she is out to get me."

"Did she say she was out to get you?" Branch asked.

"Well...no. But she's kinda mean. She keeps lookin' at me like she's out to get me."

"You could try being nice to her," Poppy suggested. "I was nice to your father and now we are happily married."

Branch smiled.

Zander's eyes grew big. "So you're saying we're gonna get married?!"

"No-"

"I'm not ready for that kind of commitment! I can't even open a pickle jar yet! How am I supposed to support my wife?! I'll have to get a job-"

"Zander," Poppy laughed. "That isn't what we meant."

"Oh." Silence. "What did you mean?"

Branch smiled again. "We just meant that if you be nice to someone, it can change them. You'd be surprised how much I changed for your mother."

Zander decided that he wouldn't ask anymore questions. He had worn himself out.

"Now get some sleep," Poppy said. "You have school in the morning."

"Ugh…"

"You're going whether you like it or not, pal," Branch mused, kissing his forehead.

Poppy took her husband's hand and they walked out together. They both had to admit she was concerned how Zander had picked up that word. It was the first time they ever heard it come from his mouth, and it shocked the both of them.

Like they said, if they had any problems that would work it out.

"We still have to talk to Maddy," said Branch.

"I know. We should just get it over with now."

"Hey, Poppy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you…"

Her heart warmed as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and pressed her lips against his. "I love you too, grumpy blueberry."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter from cute lil Zander's point of view! What are your thoughts on Hazel so far? She is kinda tough but I think you guys will really come to love her. And not going to give anything away but her Daddy is an important character too. Oh, and any thoughts of what Elliot could be hiding?**

 **Please review!**


	3. Elliot's Secret

**Hello everyone! Hopefully you did not forget about the story XD Don't worry I am not dead, I have just been going through some stuff and haven't had much motivation to write lately :/ Well small scenes here and there but I got stuck on this chapter a lot.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Seth held his breath. He didn't know what was worse: his mother's yelling or the smell of her cooking. The taste was worse than the two combined.

"You promised me!" Chenille ranted. "You _promised_ you wouldn't cause any trouble! You lied to me!"

Yes, she may not had shown her anger in the principles office but she sure did when they got home. "Mom…"

"You lied! I try to be a good mom. I provide you with food in your stomach, clothes in your back, a roof over your head and I get NOTHING!"

"Not the best food," he murmured in his sister, Gem's ear. She held back a giggle.

"What was that…?" Chenille asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Um, Mom…the dinner is on fire…" Seth said, his green eyes widening as he pointed to the burning food.

"Oh my gosh!" Chenille exclaimed, getting a bucket out of the bottom of the sink and quickly pouring water in it before dumping it on the food. As it fizzled out Chenille was a hot panting mess. She smiled nervously. "So...who wants takeout?"

Seth and Gem both nodded quietly.

It was back to scolding once they had gotten Chinese food. Just as Seth managed to tune her out, she would give him a nudge.

The lucky one was Gem, he thought. Gem could simply take out her hearing aids and she would barely hear what their mother was saying. Gem was not deaf, just simply hard of hearing. Even with her hearing aid one would have to look at her directly when they spoke or she would not understand. Her family luckily had learned sign language when they first found out. Gem hadn't spoke for almost nine years. She did not feel comfortable speaking because it was hard because she couldn't hear her own voice as well. She had almost forgotten what it had sound like. Sign language helped her communicate.

With Chenille talking a mile a minute without signing, it was enough for Gem to know that her brother was in some serious trouble.

"Go to your room," Chenille said when she realized Seth had finished his food. She took the box of empty food and threw it in the trash.

"But-"

"Go!" she ordered.

"Yes mam," Seth said quietly, sadly walking up the stairs.

"By the way, you're grounded!" she called.

Seth gasped, returning to where he was low enough for her to see him. "B-But I have a date on Friday-"

"You'll just have to cancel!"

"Mom!" he pouted.

"Don't argue with me!"

Seth pouted all the way to his room. He plopped on his bed, hoping that he could take a decent nap, but when sleep did not come. He approached the window and looked out to see Coral walking to her yellow pod. He smirked. She did have a nice behind.

* * *

Elliot let Cardigan out of his stables. The furry creature smiled when he saw his owner, giving him a friendly nudge. "Good boy," he said, patting his head and slipping on his saddle and climbing onto him. "Let's go."

As they came out of the stables, Elliot smiled as the breeze hit his face. "Steady, boy. Let's go see Lexi!"

Elliot was going to be the first to say that Lexi was far from imaginary, although Maddy begged to differ. She just had not yet met her.

Lexi was a beautiful troll with red skin, light purple hair that was typically worn in a ponytail, and dark green eyes. Her nose matched her eyes and her dress matched her hair.

There was only one problem: the age difference. Elliot was a seventeen year old in high school while Lexi was almost twenty two. Her birthday was in two weeks from now and Elliot suggested that is when she could meet his family. She had been asking for a while now, and the answer to her question was never fully answered until he had suggested that.

He was happy to see her now, even if he had lied to his parents. Well, it was more of a white lie considering he was taking Cardigan out for a walk but there was an actual destination. Right before school started him and Lexi had met in secret. Something about the situation seemed a bit off. Her voice was slightly urgent and by the way she told him to meet after he had dinner he was not quite sure what to expect. She had also given him directions to her pod, which was not at all far from his.

"Hey, freckle boy!" a familiar voice called in a rather flirtatious tone.

Chloe. Everyone knew that Chloe had a crush on Elliot. Coral knew, Seth knew, Maddy knew. Elliot _himself_ knew. He had tried to let her down easy but the pink troll could never take a hint. He just was not her type.

Both Elliot and Cardigan clenched their teeth together when they heard her. Cardigan had stopped at his tracks when he heard this. His amber eyes gazed upon his owner helplessly. Elliot wanted to give his mouse a kick to keep going but Chloe had beat him to it. Her tall body loomed over the light brown mouse. Night was beginning to fall, and her yellow eyes were starting to glow.

"Hi, Chloe," he said, giving her a small nod and smile. "Didn't I tell you not to call me freckle boy anymore…?" He hated his freckles. He always did, and that is how it would always be.

Chloe ignored his comment and inched closer, lovingly tugging at his scarf so that now their noses were touching. "Where are you going at this hour?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes. He got a good look at her eyes, ready to admit to himself that they were pretty. Even Elliot could not deny that she was a beautiful troll, and he would just maybe consider dating her if her personality was not so egocentric. But he felt nothing for her nonetheless.

"I'm-I'm going to see my girlfriend," he said, slowly pulling her arms off of his scarf and fixing it back to normal.

She giggled. "Oh? Well I'm right here," she winked.

"You know that isn't what I meant," he said dryly, giving Cardigan a light kick so that he could continue on. Just as he took one step forward, Chloe stood in their way once again.

"And why is that?"

"Because you are not my girlfriend."

"Not yet!"

Elliot sighed. "Chloe, listen. I don't want to hurt your feelings but-"

"How do you think our kids would look?" she interrupted.

"Um-"

"There is no doubt they would get your freckles!" she laughed. "They would have my eyes for sure and whenever you would look at them you would see your beautiful wife's eyes in them! And I would see-"

"Chloe!"

"What? You're eyes are beautiful too!"

"Chloe?" asked another voice. A deep voice this time. Nonetheless it was familiar.

Through the darkness appeared a handsome purple troll with the same yellow eyes. His hair was a lighter purple and he wore a teal tank top with yellow shorts that matched his eyes and nose. He also wore a yellow bandana with a crescent moon on it. Aka Chloe's father, Griffin.

"Oh! Hi Daddy!" said Chloe, her face flushed with embarrassment as she put her hands behind her back as her father approached her, lifting an eyebrow.

"Was she bugging you again, Prince Elliot?"

Before Elliot could answer, Chloe was ahead of him. "No! I wasn't!"

Griffin took his bandana off and wiped the sweat off of it before tying it back around his head again. "I think you were, baby girl. Let's go, Mom just finished dinner."

"But I-"

Chloe was interrupted when Cardigan gave her a big slimy kiss on the cheek. The pink troll gasped in disgust, squealing and squealing all the way to her pod. "Ew! Germs! Mom! Elliot's stupid mouse licked me again! Hurry! Get the disinfectant!"

"Calm down Chloe," Sain said, holding back a giggle and rubbing her back. "Easy…" The door closed.

Griffin rolled his eyes in amazement and looked back at the blue prince. "I'm sorry about her, Elliot," he said. "She's just...out spoken." That was one way to describe Chloe for sure. She was the complete opposite of her father when it came to that. Griffin was very preserved, although when he met Satin she had helped him break out of his shell. But he was still a bit shy to those he did not know. He did, however, run a tattoo business so he did have some social skills. As most artist went, he was the real serious type.

Elliot laughed. "It's alright. I get it."

"Griffin!" Satin called. "Come get it before it gets cold!"

"I'm coming sweetie!" he called. "You have a good night." He gave Elliot a small smile.

"You too, Griffin."

He watched the purple troll make his way to his wife and daughter. Through the window he saw him give his wife a kiss on the forehead. It was no secret that Griffin loved his girls more than anything, even if he wasn't a huge fan of public affection. But being married to Satin he knew it would happen because she was crazy about him.

"C'mon buddy, let's go," said Elliot, giving him a soft kick and the mouse trudged on. "For a pain in the neck, I guess Chloe isn't that bad…"

Cardigan grunted in response and shook his head as if he were telling him no. "You're right," Elliot laughed. "That girl is definitely something else."

When the duo finally made it to Lexi's red pod, the blue troll hopped off his companion and fixed his hair up. "How do I look? Nice?"

The mouse gave him a lick on the cheek. Unlike Chloe, Elliot was amused. "I love you too." He wiped the slime off of his very glitter-freckled cheek and knocked at the door.

There was a small moment of silence before his purple-headed girlfriend answered the door. He couldn't help but smile.

"Elliot…" Before he could do anything she wrapped her red arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Hi there," he smiled, not minding her warmth at all.

Lexi pulled away too soon. While she sat on the couch Elliot told Cardigan to stay outside a while, feeding him a piece of cheese before joining his girlfriend inside. Lexi was nervously sitting on the couch, twiddling her thumbs. "So uh...we have been going out for a few weeks now…"

"It'll be two on Tuesday!" Elliot smiled, sitting down on the couch. He hoped by saying that it would cheer her up but she did not even move. "Lexi?" He took her hand, that felt slightly sweaty.

"There is something I need to tell you," she said. "But I...I don't know-"

"Awww! What a cute mouse! He's got a scarf and a hat and everything!" a little voice interrupted her.

Elliot turned his head. "Who's…?"

"Mommy!" The voice getting closer, and soon appeared a little salmon-colored troll with bright yellow hair and the same green piercing eyes.

* * *

 **Dun dun dun! My first cliff hanger! There's gonna be a lot! So now we know for sure Lexi is not imaginary. She is also a Mommy!**

 **Sooo what do you guys think will happen? And what do you think of Griffin? I wanted to give Satin a good love interest, kinda shy but super sweet ^.^ and hawt ;)**

 **As for Chenille, that is a little different...you'll see! No spoilers!**

 **I'm so sorry this chapter kinda sucked and is really short but I'll make up for it someday...**

 **Tell me what you think! :)**


	4. Royal Pains

The last couple days had been nothing but utter torture for Maddy. She was at least happy to know that today was Friday so she could enjoy a luxurious weekend. The only bad thing was she could not go anywhere because she was grounded from the incident on the first day.

And now she had gotten herself in even more trouble yesterday all because of Seth and Chloe, who seemed to have one goal and that was to drive Maddy crazy.

This time, it had been in PE. The first week of school they always played dodgeball. Maddy hated this game because she could never win. But she found she hated it even more when Seth and Chloe weren't playing fairly.

Maddy sighed as she entered the girl's locker room, her sensitive ears seeming to hear just about every conversation there was. Unfortunately she did not have this class with Sparkie, so she was stuck with Seth and Chloe again.

Luckily her locker was nowhere near Chloe, but she was near Coral, which she did not mind. "Hi Coral," greeted Maddy, setting down her backpack in the larger locker it was intended for and entered the combination for her locker.

"Hi Maddy," Coral smiled, opening up her locker and taking out her gym clothes, Maddy doing the same.

There was a comfortable silence as the girls dressed themselves. "I don't like these gym clothes," Coral muttered, looking down at them. "They're baggy."

Maddy chuckled. "How come you ordered such a big size then?"

"They were my brothers. He doesn't see the point in ordering new ones when I can just wear his," explained the yellow troll.

"Ah." She nodded in understanding, shutting her locker and going to sit on one of the benches. As far as Maddy knew, Coral only lived with her brother. At least that is what she always hinted at, she never talked to anyone about her parents and Maddy had only seen her brother once or twice but had pretty much forgotten what he even looked like. All she remembered was he had the same yellow skin- although the tone was slightly darker but she did not remember his facial features or even hair. She did not even know his name.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a high-pitched whistle pierced her ears. "Alright ladies! Time for warm up stretches!" Miss Patty called.

Maddy did not like Miss Patty. For one thing, as a PE teacher one would think he or she would be in shape, but Miss Patty did not. She was always pushing them to the limit while she sat there and did nothing. Maddy had never seen her do a single push up since she had known her, and she had her class last year. Her colors were mint green with blue hair and brown eyes that reminded Maddy of poop. She typically wore a thick white jacket and light blue sweats.

As the girls piled out of the room, Coral held the door open for everyone. "Why thank you, dear!" Miss Patty smiled.

"You're welcome Miss Patty," Coral said, giving her a smile.

 _Suck up_ , Maddy thought, but as she got closer she knew she really shouldn't think that. Coral truly was a nice girl that wanted nothing more than to help others, even if she didn't like them or they did not like her. In Maddy's opinion, it was impossible _not_ to like Coral. When Maddy took time to think about it, Coral was actually a lot like Elliot. She had that same kindness that was very hard to find in someone. It was something Maddy wished she could have.

It did not take long to notice that Miss Patty was still standing at the door, just staring at her. Maddy pretended not to feel bothered by this as she was just about to thank Coral for holding the door when her head suddenly felt cold.

"If I have not told you once, I've told you a million times, no _hats_!" Miss Patty sneered, quickly putting it on her office desk before slipping out and thinking Coral once again.

Maddy groaned, shoving her hands in the pockets of the rather baggy gym shorts. "Well she did say that on the first day, Madison," Chloe mused, patting her head.

"Don't touch me," she murmured, scouting ahead of her and going out the door that Coral was still opening. "Thank you…" she said, not in a very good mood so she did not even look up.

"Ready?" Chloe asked.

"Ready!" Coral echoed excitedly.

Maddy rolled her eyes as Coral and Chloe stood beside her, their arms linked with one another talking about girly things and such. She still did not understand how they got along so much. If anything, Coral would be better off hanging out with Maddy and the few real friends that she had rather than hanging out with Chloe and all of her fake friends.

 _It's not my life…_

It hadn't taken long for Coral and Chloe to pass her by, and now she was left behind the group of girls. "Hurry up," Miss Patty said, giving her a nudge on the shoulder as she walked ahead of her. Maddy quickened her pace, wanting to tell Miss Patty never to touch her but she held her tongue.

In dodgeball, there was only one point and one point only in Maddy's opinion: and that was to hit as many people as possible. Maddy had her eyes on Seth, who had that stupid grin on his face. She was glad when Miss Patty had put them on opposite teams, because there was no way she was working with the guy that got her grounded. Chloe was on the opposite team, too, which kind of sucked considering Chloe was quite good at sports but would never admit it.

Halo was more than happy to have Maddy on his team, even if she was not very good. Her presence was enough to make the orange troll smile. "Hi honeybun!" he smiled. "Ready to play some dodgeball-" he was interrupted when a dodgeball hit him right in the face, nearly making him tip over but Maddy had caught him just in time.

"Are...Are you okay?" asked the pink troll.

"Yeah, I'm alright…" said Halo, rubbing his cheek.

From the other side of the gym pod she heard snickering coming from green troll who was nudging Seth. "Good one, man," Seth laughed.

"Hey! The game hasn't even started yet!" Maddy yelled.

"It has now!" Seth smirked, hitting her right in the face.

"Maddy! Are you alright?!" Halo asked frantically.

"I'm _fine_ ," she snapped.

Before she knew it dodgeballs were being thrown in every direction, and Seth and Chloe took every chance they got to hit het and hit her hard. No matter how hard she tried she'd get hit in the face. She didn't have time to tell Miss Patty, who was yelling about how slow her reaction time was as she stuffed her face with potato chips.

The boys PE teacher, Mr. Russell, was telling Seth how much of a "great job" he was doing even though he watched the dark blue troll hit Maddy in the face and do nothing about it.

"Maddy! Watch out!" Halo warned as Seth threw another dodgeball at her.

She thought fast, holding out her hands so she caught the dodgeball. "Ha! Finally you are out!"

Seth pouted by the slightest bit before he sat down, mumbling words under his breath.

With the dodgeball she had caught, her target was Chloe, who was finally focused on hitting someone other than Maddy. She waited until Chloe could not see her, and that is when she fired, getting her right in the face.

"OW! MISS PATTY! MADDY HIT ME IN THE FACE!" Chloe's voice echoed through the gym pod, and Maddy was surprised she did not make it shake with how loud she was.

"Madison!" Miss Patty said, blowing her whistle.

"It really hurt," Chloe whimpered, holding her cheeks as fake tears formed.

"It was just a dodgeball," Coral said, rubbing her friends back. "It'll be okay."

Maddy rolled her eyes, just wanting to ditch this class and head to choir- possibly the only class she liked that happened to be the last class of the day. But now she had _this_ to deal with.

"Well I only did it because _you_ would stop hitting _me_!"

"Is that true Chloe?" Miss Patty asked, finishing the last of her chips and crumbling them up and putting the now crumbled bag in her hair. _Eww!_ Chloe looked how Maddy felt until Miss Patty looked at her, and it was right back to her fake crying as more trolls surrounded her. Maddy knew that Chloe was nothing but an attention seeker. Why else would she cause so much commotion? She found it so strange because she was the only child in her family, and the only child always gets all the attention of the parents. Satin and Griffin were loving parents to her, so what was the desperation for attention?

Miss Patty made her way through the crowd of girls. Coral stumbled a little bit until Seth caught her. "Glad i caught you," smirked the blue troll.

Coral let out a nervous giggle. "Heh...yeah…"

 _Yuck!_

"Awwww," Halo cooed, putting his hand on his heart.

Maddy rolled her eyes at the orange troll. He was a fool. "Halo, you know what Seth is about just as much as I do. Why are you-"

"Maybe this time it'll be different," he suggested hopefully. "I mean, you never know. Maybe Seth and Coral will last."

"Pigs will fly when that happens," Maddy murmured, watching Miss Patty helped Chloe up and turned around to face her.

"Madison, I cannot believe you would hit another student on purpose! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Hey, don't blame Maddy!" Halo tried. "Dodgeball is the game, right? You are suppose to dodge the ball...and...and clearly, Chloe didn't dodge it!"

"Yeah, keep going, you're doing great," Seth muttered sarcastically.

"Hush fishstick!" Miss Russell shushed him.

Seth knitted his eyebrows and glanced at Coral. "Fishstick…?"

Coral shrugged her shoulders.

"Do I look like a fish stick?" he asked himself.

"You look like a watermelon with those chubby cheeks of yours!" Maddy smirked, crossing his arms.

"Shut up Maddy…" he said.

"I think your melon cheeks are adorable!" Coral grinned, kissing him on the cheek.

Seth stuck his tongue out at Maddy.

"If I just apologize will you drop this?" asked Maddy.

"Only if Chloe agrees," said Miss Patty.

"Oh, alright, I guess," the pink troll sighed, still holding her cheek.

"I'm deeply sorry," she said, trying her hardest to be serious.

"That's okay. Some people just are desperate for attention."

* * *

"Wait, so _she_ said that to _you_?" Elliot asked as he, Maddy, Halo and Sparkie made way to the choir pod.

"I know! Like, _I'm_ the one that is desperate for attention! Okay, that makes so much sense! I hate attracting any attention!" she ranted. "It's like she's trying to ruin my life."

"Maybe she is just jealous," Sparkie suggested. "She does wanna be royalty..."

"If she were royalty, she'd sure be a royal pain! Why would she be jealous of me? Look at me, Sparks! Elliot? Halo? You guys are looking at me like I'm crazy! I mean, Chloe is beautiful and I'm….I'm just me…"

"That does it!" Halo bursted out. "Maddison, I'm not going to sit here and listen to you talk bad about yourself! You're beautiful! Any guy would be lucky as cheese to go out with you!"

"That is sweet and all...but cheese is lucky…?" Sparkie giggled. **(1)**

Maddy for once was speechless. Although it was a bit silly, she found herself scarlet at what Halo had said but it only lasted a moment before she shook it off. "Yeah well I don't _need_ a guy!" she said, fixing her hat and quickening her pace away from her friends and brother.

Sparkie was quick to catch up with her, leaving Halo and Elliot alone side by side.

Elliot was silent the rest of the way. His mind was focused on different things. He hadn't seen Lexi ever since he found out about her daughter. The only thing he knew was that her name was Juno and she liked to wear numerous bows in her hair. If he were to guess, he would say she was about Zander's age.

"You okay, Elliot?" Halo asked, giving him a friendly nudge.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." When Halo was silent he slowed down until he came to a stop. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...it's just…"

"Maddy?"

"I really like her."

"I know." Everyone knew that Halo had been in love with Maddy since they were young children. Elliot didn't know what that felt like, to grow up with someone and fall even more in love each day. He wasn't lucky enough to have that. Sure he loved Lexi. He loved spending time with her but he was not in love with her. He knew that love took its time, and he promised himself he was coming over there after school ended, although he knew he'd have some chores to do before he could leave. He had no idea what he was gonna say. He did not want to say anything wrong, yet he had so many questions. He wanted to get to know Juno, too. And he wanted to-

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Halo interrupted his thoughts.

"Shoot."

"You have a girlfriend, right?"

 _I sure hope I still do…_ "Yeah," he answered carefully.

"What did you do? You know, to impress her? What about you caught her attention?"

Elliot smiled slightly, raising his eyebrow. "Are you asking for advice?"

"Sorta."

"First of all, let Maddy come to you. Maddy always hides what she is feeling, try not to let that fool you. Like just now. She really appreciated what you said, but she can't communicate her feelings."

Halo nodded in understanding. It was hard not to tell how he was feeling. He could never keep all his feelings inside. He told Maddy how he felt and if he didn't his day didn't feel complete. Although Maddy didn't have any feelings towards him other than a friend, he still tried. He hoped that someday there would be something he could do they'd make her fall for him. It needed to be something spontaneous. Something that'd catch her eye right away. But if he was going to go with Elliot's advice about him not coming to her, it was going to be a very challenging thing to do. And Elliot knew his sister and his sister knew him. Elliot was beginning to think she was getting suspicious about Lexi.

Meanwhile, Maddy walked with Sparkie in silence. "Hey," said Sparkie. "Promise me no matter what guys we date, we'll always be best friends."

"I'd never leave you, Sparkie," Maddy promised, linking arms with her and they walked into the choir pod, Elliot and Halo not far behind.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," said Mr. Rufus, appearing from his office and straightening his tie. He was a rather short troll with yellow skin and lime green hair. "We have a lot to cover today, but first we must get voice checked. Let's start with the young gentlemen this time."

Maddy knew this routine from last year.

All the boys that thought they were tenors went in one direction while the boys who thought they were bases went in the other direction.

Seth was always a base and Mr. Rufus was rather impressed with how low he could go. Seth's voice in general was impressive. Halo was a tenor, meaning he could sing higher but his voice was nice. Elliot could sing both but he preferred to sing lower.

Sparkie was like that too. She could be an alto but she could also be a soprano because when she sang her voice could get a bit auto tuned. Sometimes when she'd yell her voice would get that way. But Sparkie loved singing higher, as well as Chloe who was standing next to Coral as she watched Elliot get voiced checked.

"He's so hot," the tall troll whispered in Coral's ear.

 _Gross…_

She hated how Chloe always flirted with her brother. She didn't get the hint that Elliot had no interest in her. The pink troll seemed perfectly fine now as she practically drooled when Elliot sang. Coral had her eyes on Seth and when it was her turn he looked up at her and she quickly looked away and smiled, faint blush on her face.

As Seth began to sing, Maddy noticed Sparkie looked slightly flustered too. Other girls drooled for him as he showed off. _Is everyone in love with him except me?!_

* * *

Maddy stuffed her hands in her pockets on the walk home. Sparkie and Elliot were once again by her side but no sign of Halo, which was a surprise because he usually walked home with them.

She was relieved that she didn't have to deal with detention and today was her last day of it, so it was now almost time for dinner so her father's cooking would start out a luxurious weekend, even though she was still grounded.

"Are you sure you can't come over?" Sparkie asked sadly, clutching her book close to her chest so her turtleneck sweater almost covered her face.

"I'm sure. I'm still in trouble because of _certain people…"_ she glared at Seth as he and Chenille walked home.

"I told you, you don't have to pick me up anymore…" he said in a quiet voice. Maddy's sensitive ears could hear everything.

"But I wanna know how my baby boy's day has been!"

Maddy held back a laugh. "Oh my god…" she snickered.

"Mama's little boy," Elliot chuckled.

"Guys...it's not nice to spy!" Sparkie tried not to giggle herself.

"Mom! S-Stop being so loud…" Seth was saying.

"But how did it go?"

"My gym teacher called me a fishstick, happy?!" Seth dragged his mother all the way to their pod and slammed the door.

"Fishstick? Everyone knows he has a melon face!" Elliot said.

"Exactly what I said!" Maddy laughed.

Sparkie got in the middle of the laughing siblings. "Alright, that's enough…" she could help but smile.

"You know it's funny," Elliot laughed. "You're laughing too!"

"No, cmon! Don't embarrass him even more," she laughed one more time before she approached her glittery pod. Maddy and Elliot walked her to the door.

"Bye guys. I guess I'll see you Monday," Sparkie said, hugging Maddy and giving Elliot a friendly nod before going inside.

Maddy wiped the glitter from her hat and her and her brother finally made their way home. "So how's Lexi?"

"She's…" _How was she?_ "Fine."

"Just fine?"

Elliot didn't make eye contact with her, and suddenly his scarf became the most interesting thing in the world.

"Are we ever gonna be able to meet her?" Maddy asked impatiently, putting her hand on her hips while Elliot kept walking and opened the door to their royal pod.

"I dunno, I…"

They were cut off when a familiar family sat on the couch next to Poppy and Branch. Branch looked angry and uncomfortable as he sat next to Satin and Griffin while Chloe sat in the chair. Satin looked uncomfortable and angry too.

"Mom?! Dad? What is _that_ doing here?" Maddy asked, pointing at Chloe.

"Oh look at the time I gotta go take Cardigan for a walk!" Elliot was out fast as lightning when he saw Chloe smirking at him. He slammed the door so Maddy was now alone with them, her back still pressed against the door. _Did Miss Patty tell our parents?!_

"What's going on?" Maddy asked, slowly setting down her backpack.

"Welcome to the party, Maddy," Poppy smiled.

* * *

 **Sorry if the ending was a bit confusing! It'd make more sense in the next chapter don't worry. Im also sorry for being gone, still a lot is going on but things have calmed down now so hopefully I can post more now :)**

 **But no promises! School started this week!**

 **1) That is a Victorious reference (aka the last good show on Nick, if you got it awesome if you didn't you didn't have a childhood I guess lmao)**

 **I hoped you enjoyed, please tell me what you think :D**


	5. Like Fire and Ice

**Hi everyone! I'm back! I'm sorry it's late once again but I think you'll just have to deal with late updates every now and then :P So before I get started I would like to point out my theory that Branch and Satin hate each other. Thaf's literally it. They just do. Like it isn't even a theory XDDD If you agree with me let me know because there's gotta be more people that believe this. It makes since why Maddy and Chloe don't like each other…**

 **With that note, here's the chapter!**

* * *

"Before you ask, Maddison, I want you to know this was not my idea," Chloe said.

"Yeah, that really helps…"

"Sit down." Poppy remained calm, patting a seat for her to sit down next to her. She took off her hat and began to stroke her hair. "Do you know why we're here?"

When Maddy looked at her mother doubtfully Poppy explained. "Miss Patty stopped by earlier today and told me you got in some trouble today."

"I knew it!" Maddy exclaimed. "She said she'd drop it if I apologized! She lied!"

Griffin finally spoke up. "I think it was good she told."

"What?!" Maddy and Chloe asked at the same time, leading to them to glare at each other and cross their arms.

"We had been planning this for a while," Griffin continued.

"Planning what, exactly?" Chloe asked.

"If you'll be quiet, we can explain," Griffin said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Okay, okay. I'll be quiet…"

"For once," Maddy murmured.

"You know what?!" Chloe stood on her feet. "I can take you!"

Maddy smiled wide and held out her arms, now on her feet as well. "I'm right here!"

Poppy held her back. "Now, now...that's enough! Griffin and I are probably not the only ones who have realized the...disagreements between our daughters."

"That's what you call it?" asked Branch, who now stood in the corner with his arms crossed.

Poppy huffed. "What do _you_ want me to call it, then?"

"Does it matter what we call it?!" Satin demanded. "Come on, we all know the reason they don't get along because she's so much like her father."

"What?!" Maddy and Branch asked in disbelief.

"You two are alike…" Poppy agreed, seeming to be careful with her words.

"Alright," Griffin said, getting up on his feet. "We are going to do this without trying to raise our voices…"

"No promises," Maddy muttered, crossing her pink arms.

"Hey, why are you always so grumpy all the time?" Chloe asked curiously. "Is it some kind of condition? If so I think you need professional help."

"Chloe!" Griffin scolded.

"Why are you so annoying?!" Maddy growled.

"I was just asking a question!" Chloe gasped. "Mom! Dad! Did you hear what she said about me?!"

"You guys are communicating," Satin said calmly, glancing at Poppy. "That was your goal, wasn't it?"

"We don't want them to say _that_ to each other!" Griffin exclaimed. "This was suppose to get them to be friends."

"Do you guys _think_ you could be friends?" Satin tried.

Chloe and Maddy glanced at each other then looked back at Satin and shook their heads.

"Then it's settled, you'll be best friends!" Poppy said, Griffin nodding in agreement.

"I already _have_ a best friend!" Maddy pointed out. She didn't need Chloe. Not even as a friend. She was happy with Sparkie. She always had her back and Maddy always had hers. That is how it had always been for as long as she could remember. Chloe never once did anything for her. They weren't even compatible! They were like fire and ice.

Chloe didn't need Maddy, either. She had lots of friends, and she had Coral. Coral was her best friend.

"I don't think they should be forced to be friends…" Satin said.

"I agree with mom!" Chloe said quickly, nodding her head matter-of-factly and crossing her arms.

"That's only because she's an exact _clone_ of you," Branch growled, rolling his blue eyes.

"You've always had a problem with me," Satin sighed. "What did I do now?"

"Satin…" Griffin gulped when he saw his wife stand up onto her feet.

"Oh, I'm probably the problem, right?! Since I ruin everything!"

"Honey, please! You pranced around the village all day raining on everyone's parade telling them the Bergens were coming! You single-handedly ruined a young trolls birthday, wedding, and her husband's funeral in not a very long timespan," Satin pointed out, putting on her hips. "Did you ever stop to think about that poor clown?"

Branch held out his finger, wanting to prove her wrong but he could not organize his words. "Well...the-the Bergens came!" he said. "I was right! And who was the one that came to save you?"

"Poppy?"

"Just doin my job," Poppy smiled.

They ignored her.

"And me!" Branch said, pointing at himself. "If it wasn't for me you'd be Bergen food!"

"Oh cmon! We all did it together! And the Bergens don't eat us anymore! Stop making it all about you. That's Chloe's job."

"Hey!" Chloe pouted while Maddy burst into peals of laughter.

"This is why I love your mother," Maddy giggled, trying to control her laughter while Chloe just glared at her with her piercing yellow eyes.

"I love you too Maddy!" Satin smiled before continuing to argue with Branch.

"See, at least your mom has the decency to call me what I _like_ to be called," Maddy hinted.

"There's a difference between what you were named and what you'd like to be named," Chloe said.

"Stop trying to sound so deep," Maddy sighed. "It doesn't work with someone so shallow. I almost feel sorry for you."

For once, Chloe had nothing to say

"If Maddy is just like me, then why do you like her? You clearly don't like me!"

" _She_ isn't a paranoid freak!"

"Satin!" Griffin gripped her wrist. " _Stop._ "

"Oh I'm just getting started!"

"No you aren't," Griffin argued, pulling her away from the blue king. "Remember how paranoid I was when Chloe was born...? Now are you gonna be nice?" he asked calmly.

"Only if _he's_ nice!"

"You know I can hear you two right?" asked an unamused Branch.

"Of course _you_ can," she sighed.

"What's that suppose to- ow!" He was taken about when he felt familiar fingers pulling at his ears. "Poppy!"

"Is the King going to behave?" she whispered harshly. He found over the years of knowing Poppy that she was rather scary when she got angry.

"She's mean," Branch pouted.

Satin hasped. "I'm not mean, I'm just honest!"

" _Brutally_ honest," Branch added, but whimpered when he felt Poppy tighten her grip on his ear.

"That is true," Giffin murmured.

"See, this guy gets it!" Satin smiled.

"Then I feel sorry for you, Griffin."

"BRANCH!"

"You get used to it," Griffin shrugged.

"How can you deal with her?"

"He takes special medication," Chloe teased causing Satin to glare at her.

Maddy tried with all her might to hold back a laugh. She held her mouth, breathing heavily through her nose.

"Good right?" Chloe nudged her.

"S-Stop laughing at your own joke! That means it's obviously not funny!"

"You know it was," Chloe giggled, biting her bottom lip.

She could no longer hold back a grin. "Was not!"

Chloe smirked. "I should be a stand up comedian!"

Both Maddy's face and ears dropped. "Don't take it too far."

Chloe continued to smile until the room went completely silent. Maddy looked up to see Griffin and Poppy staring at them while Poppy held back Branch by his vest while Griffin held onto Satin's wrist.

"They're getting along?" Griffin asked softly.

"No we are not!" Chloe said, crossing her arms and slouching down.

"Chloe, what is your real problem with Maddy?" Poppy asked gently. "She never did anything to you."

"Well I'm prettier than she is!" the pink troll bursted out.

"That isn't an answer," Griffin said.

"It's the truth!"

"Oh you wanna know the truth do you?!" Maddy stood up on both her feet and suddenly it was complete chaos. No one could understand a word the girls were saying as one would interrupted and talk over while the other would do the same; so on and so forth. This even caused Branch and Satin to argue again, doing the exact same thing as Maddy and Chloe. Poppy and Griffin tried to remain calm and even tried to speak but they got kicked out of the group.

"I'm not standing for this!" Poppy got back up on her feet as Griffin rubbed his head and fixed his bandana. With her pink eyebrows furrowed, she grabbed both Branch and Maddy by their ears.

"Ow! Ow!" Maddy whined.

"Ears!" Branch complained.

"That ought to teach you to behave!"

"Maybe we should just go," Griffin said softly.

"Yeah, can we go?" Chloe asked, fixing her hair.

"I still got a lot more to-" Satin was interrupted when Griffin carried her over her shoulders. "Let me go Griffin!"

"No! I'm so sorry Poppy!" he called.

"I'm sorry too," she called back, keeping a tight grip on both Maddy and Branch, watching them leave.

"You are so embarrassing," Chloe was saying before the door had closed.

"Can you believe her?!- Ow! Mom!" Maddy said, feeling like she might cry.

They were interrupted as they heard little footsteps come down the stairs, revealing Zander. "Can't believe who?"

* * *

Elliot licked his lips. "Lexi...I was fairly surprised when I found out about your daughter, but...but I'm...I think I…" the blue prince let out a sigh. Cardigan raised an eyebrow, staring at him with his amber eyes. "Help me out here!"

The mouse tilted his head, continuing to stare at him. "Buddy, sometimes I wish you could talk…" he sighed again, burying his head in his freckled knees until looking back up at his companion. "Let's say you met this other mouse. A _female_ mouse."

Cardigan's ears perked up at this. Elliot laughed as slipped his boots back on, fiddling with the hay rack. "Man, you gotta lay off the mangos. They aren't as good when I have to clean up your crap." Elliot scooped up more of his mouse's waste and piled it up. "Now, anyway," he continued. "Say this female mouse is...well...she's a little bit older, which isn't bad, but she's got little baby mice, which isn't bad either. What would you do?"

"Well that depends. How many mice?" Poppy's amused voice interrupted Elliot who had just scooped up the last of the dung and threw it in the trash can.

"Mom?" He turned around to see his mother standing there.

"Really like what you've done with the place," said the pink troll, rubbing under Cardigan's neck. He always did love Poppy. "Awww you made a lantern!"

"Yeah, its Cardigan's nightlight. I think he's scared of the dark," he chuckled. Cardigan narrowed his eyes and swatted his owner with his tail.

"Ow!" he laughed, nudging his mouse and taking off his saddle and scarf. "So how did your little talk go?" he asked, setting the saddle and scarf over the stables. "Why exactly where Chloe and Griffin and Satin here?"

Poppy took a breath. "It was my idea. Maddy's gym teacher-"

"Miss Patty?"

"-that's the one."

"She sucks."

"Don't say that."

"For the girls, at least. The guys have Mr. Russell. He's weird too. He once called me a talentless hamburger."

"Talentless hamburger?" Poppy repeated, putting her finger to her chin and tapping it. "Now that's a little strange." The pink Queen shook her head clear of the odd thought.. "Anyway, Miss Patty told your dad and I that Maddy got in some trouble."

"Again?"

"Apparently she hit Chloe in the face. I mean I mean sure they have their differences but I don't think Maddy would intentionally wanna hurt her."

"And she probably didn't," said Elliot, brushing Cardigan's fur.

Poppy looked up. "You don't think so?"

"Yeah. I mean, Chloe is Chloe. If anything, she must've hit Maddy first. She does have quite the arm, really. With her height she'd be good in basketball."

"Griffin does want her to go into sports," Poppy told him. "He says she has a lot of rage for some reason."

"Rage?"

Poppy nodded. "It might just be a confidence issue."

Elliot did not look up but he nodded in understanding. Although he felt uncertain that his mother was right. Chloe always seem so confident and when she made a point she made it clear. He could tell you that first hand, and he was starting to think she wasn't ever going to get over her crush on him.

"Well," he started carefully, "you never know what happens behind closed doors…" He set the brush down and put it on the shelf.

"Hey, is there something bothering you?" Poppy suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Elliot grabbed some cheese and crackers out of the container and faced her Cardigan yet refused to make eye contact with Poppy. "It's nothing." He slowly feed his mouse his dinner bit by bit, slightly anxious. He needed to fight any excuse to talk about himself. How was he suppose to tell his mother- well any of his family that Lexi had a daughter? He knew he would get the lecture that raising a kid was no easy task.

Finally, he changed the subject. "You never did tell me about how the talk went."

Poppy sighed. "Well, things were said, jokes were told, and ears were pulled."

"Ouch…" Elliot rubbed his freckled ears, knowing it hurt a lot more for his father and sister than it did for him and Poppy. Zander's ears were sensitive, too. But not as much as Branch and Maddy.

"Yeah, they're pretty upset with me right now. But I just want them all to get along...even _you_ get along with Satin. And he can't?! That's ridiculous."

Elliot chuckled as he set down the cheese and crackers for Cardigan to finish on his own. "It's sure funny how Maddy and Chloe don't get along either. Some people just don't get along. I wouldn't force it."

"Yeah, well, Satin and Griffin did babysit you when you were little," she smiled.

"I've heard this story a thousand times," Elliot smiled in amusement. "How Satin taught me to call Dad 'Mr. Daddy Wrinkles'."

"He does have a lot doesn't he?" Poppy giggled, beginning to feel slightly bad afterwards but it was in Poppy's nature to tease him. He knew he was still very much upset. "I should go talk to him…" She paused. "Do you mind making dinner?

"Not at all," he said.

"Thanks," Poppy said, giving him a small hug and walking out. Elliot waited until she left to let out a small sigh.

Cardigan yawned and curled up in a ball. "Sometimes I wish I was a mouse," he murmured.

* * *

As Elliot washed his hands, Maddy and Zander sat on the table. As Zander rambled about his day at school, Maddy cupped her face in her chin, not even barely listening. She didn't care to listen.

"You can always help me if you don't wanna listen to him," Elliot chuckled.

"No thanks," she said, in no mood for cooking, no mood for Zander, no mood for anything.

Meanwhile, Poppy was doing everything she could to get Branch talking. "Branch." She tapped his nose. He remained silent, his black spectacles on the bridge of his nose as he read. "Branch." She tickled his stomach. He did not budge. "Branchhhhh!" she whined, burying her face in his chest, her hair tickling his neck.

"What?" he sighed, looking up from his book.

"How many times do I have to apologize?"

The blue troll raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and brushing her off of him but Poppy was persistent. "I'm sorry," she repeated as he held her forehead. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"

"Are you?"

"Obviously!"

"Prove it, then." He crossed his arms.

Poppy smirked. "If you say so." She slowly took the book out of his hands and began to kiss down his neck.

Branch's breath trembled. "P-Poppy…"

"Im proving it," she smirked even more.

"N-No...I-I should be the one sorry. I-I…" He let a moan escape from his lips as she kissed his chest and shoulders.

Poppy traveled back up to his neck and onto his cheeks. "I love you," she said through each peck in a voice that just drove him crazy.

He pulled her closer to him, causing her to sloppily press her lips against his. He wrapped his muscular arms around her tightly, finally needing to break the kiss for air.

"I love you too," he said softly, kissing her forehead. "And I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Being rude...I just can't get along with her!"

"But she's our friend," Poppy frowned. Branch opened his mouth but she knew exactly what she was going to say. "Let me guess: _my_ friend, not yours?"

Branch did not respond.

"I think that everyone can get along," said Poppy. "That is why we are going to try again!"

"Poppy...Satin and I are like fire and ice."

"Ooo! A metaphor! Which one is which?" she asked curiously.

Branch smiled at her in amusement. "That isn't the point. It doesn't matter, point is-"

"It's obvious that Satin is fire."

"I wanted to be fire," Branch pouted.

"You said it didn't matter!" Poppy laughed. It was silent for a moment. "Well, I say we go out."

"I say stay in."

"Would you let me finish? This is Troll to Troll all over again," she laughed. "Tomorrow is Saturday. We should go somewhere Saturday night."

"Where?"

"We're gonna go get wasted!"

" _What_?"

"When's the last time we went to go drinking?"

"It's been a while," he noted. It would be nice to have the night off from their royal duties.

"And we are bringing Satin!"

Branch gulped. Now he wasn't looking forward to tomorrow night.

Oh boy.

* * *

 **I didn't really look over this. I just wanted to get it done haha so please don't be all weird if I made a mistake... Please leave a review! :)**


	6. Of Teddy Bears and Blueberries

When the next morning came, Branch was woken by Zander jumping on his belly. "Daddy! Good morning!" he smiled widely.

Branch yawned, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Zander...what time is it?" he asked, his ears slightly droopy.

"Its Saturday!" He did a little dance on the bed. This did not fail to make Branch smile.

"I know, but what is the time?" He sat up slightly

"I've been up since 6 o'clock! Mommy was up too. She said she is going to take a walk. And to wake you up to make breakfast."

Branch nodded and looked at the clock that read only 6:30. Branch heaved a sigh although he knew there was no way he was going back to sleep again any time soon. He could never understand why his Poppy and Zander could never sleep in. Elliot and Maddy didn't mind, although Elliot was better at waking up than Maddy. Maddy liked waking up at her own time and hated being woken up by others.

This is exactly why Branch decided not to wake her up, he knew she had a tough week so he let her alone and woke Elliot. Just as he and Zander approached his oldest sons' room, the door opened, revealing Elliot. "Oh, good morning guys," said the blue prince.

"Morning," Branch yawned.

"Good morning Elliot!" Zander said, way more energetic. "Daddy is gonna make breakfast! Can I help this time? Please?" asked Zander, hugging Branch's foot.

Branch glanced at Elliot who was smiling.

"Okay," Branch agreed. "Try not to make a mess."

"Alright!" he smiled, running down the stairs.

"Hey, wait for me!" Branch hollered after him, quickly going downstairs leaving a chuckling Elliot.

Elliot didn't mind being left alone. It was the times where he could sit and think about things. He had done a lot of thinking last night about numerous things. It was always how he was: always thinking about things ahead. He always had a plan.

And his plan to see Lexi was going to be today. He needed to let her know that just because Lexi had a child didn't mean he was looking to cheat his way out of this. It wasn't the adult thing to do. _I'm almost an adult. I can handle it._

It wasn't until early afternoon when Elliot decided to visit Lexi. After taking care of Cardigan, he decided to go on this adventure alone. As he left his pod, he began to regret not bringing his friend with him. There was a feeling in his stomach that he couldn't seem to get rid of.

Today was a nice day. It was not too hot nor was it too cold. Part of the sun was covered up by the clouds. _It may rain_ , he thought. He didn't mind the rain, really. Some of his best memories was in the rain.

There that feeling was once again that he was being followed. He already felt like everyone was staring at him and once he got close enough they'd greet him with "good morning Prince Elliot" with a bow. None of it he thought he deserved, but he smiled at them anyway with a friendly nod. It wasn't in his nature to be rude. He couldn't call himself the prince of the troll tree if he were to be like that. Zander would always giggle when people said that to him, while Maddy would slightly stiffen and nod. He knew Maddy didn't want to be a princess and Zander was too young to understand all of it yet.

When Elliot glanced over his shoulder there was no one there. _Must be my nerves_.

Elliot took this time to hide his face when he saw Chloe standing on Coral's shoulders. Seth stood with his arms crossed in front of them. Coral stumbled slightly. "Chloe, are you sure this is-"

"It's good practice if I wanna join the cheer squad!"

Coral clenched her teeth together. "W-Wait, I-I don't think-"

"GIMME AN C! GIMME AN H! GIMME AN L! GIMME AN O! GIMME AN E! WHAT DOES THAT SPELL! CHLOE!"

Seth growled and rubbed his head. "Can you get any more annoying?!"

Chloe gasped. "I'm not annoying! You're the annoying one."

Elliot tried his hardest not to get in the middle of them but once Chloe saw him he knew he was done for. "Oh God Elliot!" Chloe jumped off her friend, nearly knocking Coral down.

"You alright?" asked Seth, giving her a warm smile and wrapping her into a hug.

Coral giggled. "I'm fine."

"So are they a thing?" Elliot asked Chloe, who was smiling at him.

Her face dropped and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, they're a thing. You know he snuck out last night when he was grounded?"

"Really?" he asked, glancing at the couple.

The pink troll nodded. "It won't be long until they've broken up."

"How do you know? They could last."

"Have you forgotten how much Seth uses girls? I don't want Coral to get hurt!"

Elliot nodded but didn't say anything for a while. "I have to go."

"Wait- don't leave me along with them!"

"Sorry, I have to take care of something!"

"We could go on a double date!" was the last thing he heard before he walked up the branch that lead to Lexi's pod. It was no business of his to interfere between Coral and Seth's romance. He barely even knew them, yet he knew them all his life. All he could do was hope Seth wouldn't hurt her. Coral was a troll full of spirit…there was never a day when he saw her sad…

He quickened his pace and shook his head. They'd figure it out themselves. If Coral got hurt than she'd learn. If her heart got broken it was bloody proof she had one. He knew she had one. She was a kind troll.

He felt more nervous the closer he got.

When he finally reached the pod, he took a deep breath before knocking.

He heard light footsteps coming from the door, and before he knew it the familiar salmon-colored troll answered the door. "Mommy?" Juno called worriedly.

Elliot gave her a small smile, causing her to back up a little, her back hitting her mother's stomach. "Awww honey it's okay. He's no stranger. This is Elliot, you met him the other day, remember?"

Juno peeked from behind her mother's leg and shyly waved. "Hello sir."

"She's a bit shy when she first meets someone new," Lexi said.

"Oh, that's okay," said Elliot. "I was really shy when I was young, too." He began to remember some of the earliest memories of his childhood. He always liked spending time by himself, and when he was introduced to new people he always hid behind Poppy. Dating back to when he was just a baby, Branch could set him on the floor and he could entertain himself. He was more outgoing now, yet he didn't have a lot of friends. He had Cardigan, the best friend he could ask for. He was independent and he liked it.

"You were?" Juno asked, slowly approaching him.

Elliot smiled. "You bet. But you don't need to be shy in front of me. Im nice."

Juno glanced up at her mom with her huge green eyes just like hers. Lexi bit her lip and smiled. "He's very nice."

* * *

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Juno sooner," said Lexi, playing with Elliot's hands. "I guess I was just...scared." The couple was sitting in the kitchen while Juno played with her toys

"Hey, it's okay. I get it," Elliot said gently.

"No, I wasn't honest. In a relationship you're suppose to be honest and loyal. I'm truly sorry."

"I'm sorry for not talking for a few days."

"It's alright. You've been busy. How's school been?"

"It's been fine. Slow week," he said nonchalantly.

Lexi nodded in understanding while Juno smiled and approached her. "Look Mommy! This stuffed animal looks just like Elliot!" The salmon-colored troll held up a little brown bear that wore a scarf and had numerous freckles on his cheeks and shoulders.

"He doesn't have nearly as much freckles!" Lexi teased.

"Hey!" Elliot frowned, his ears slightly droopy. "You know I don't like them." He pouted.

"Why not?" Juno asked, leaving the bear on the table and going back into the living room where she fiddled with the rest of her toys.

Elliot shrugged. "I dunno, it's just…" He trailed off, unsure how to answer that in a way that Juno would understand. As a teenager, he of course had his insecurities. His freckles were one of them. He didn't know it was even possible to have this many, but he was told by Grandpeppy that his wife had a lot as well. He definitely got it from Poppy's side.

Lexi chuckled. "You are so insecure. You seem pretty perfect to me." She leaned across the table and gave him a peck on the lips.

Elliot blushed, unable to keep the smile off his face. He really did have it bad.

* * *

It was midday as Seth walked back to his pod before saying goodbye to Coral. He was not planning on telling his mother that he snuck out last night when he was grounded. She was too busy working on a dress to even notice; at times he thought she worked herself too hard.

When he opened the door to his familiar pod Gem was in the living room focused on a book. The green troll smiled when she saw him.

"Hi Gem," he said.

She waved while another voice came from the kitchen.

"PLEASSEEE!"

"Satin, how many times must I say it?! I'm not going!"

"And why not?"

"Do I have to have a _reason_?"

"Yes! You could meet the love of your life!"

"I'm used to being a single mom by now, don't even get me started on men."

Seth sighed, entering the kitchen. He almost thought he should leave before he was put in the middle of his mother and aunts bickering.

"Oh, Sethie! Perfect!" Satin grinned.

 _Oh boy…_

"Don't you think your Mom deserves a night out?"

"Well, sure. I mean everyone deserves a night out…" he said, approaching the fridge.

Seth knew by now that Satin loved being right, yet it was the honest truth that she did deserve a night where she didn't have to worry about anything.

"See, even Seth thinks you deserve it! _We_ deserve it!"

"Would you stop trying to feed me this lie?! You and I both know that you just want me to go so things wont be awkward between you and Branch!"

Satin gasped over dramatically. "See how she treats me Seth?! She thinks I'm _using_ her. I'd _never_ do that!"

Seth let out another sigh as he pulled out some blueberries. "Wait, I'm confused. How is Branch involved?" he asked, approaching the sisters and sitting down.

"Poppy invited Satin and Griffin-"

"To go get wasted tonight!" Satin interrupted.

"Would you let me finish my sentence?! You always do that!" Chenille crossed her arms and pouted.

"Awww now she's pouty," Satin said, nudging an amused Seth. Her attention was then focused on the blueberries. "Oo! Blueberries!" she grinned, taking one straight out of Seth's hands and popping them in her mouth.

Seth frowned. "Sure, go ahead, help yourself…"

"Gimme one!" Before Seth knew it his mother snatched the one he had just picked up and munched on it.

"Stop being so grumpy!" Satin said, taking yet another blueberry out of Seth's hands.

Seth was done at this point. The young troll slammed his hands on the table. "You know what?! I don't even want them anymore! I'm not hungry! Take them!"

The twins watched him get up and storm out of the room, muttering foul words under his breath.

"What's his problem?" Satin mumbled, stuffing her face even more.

"I know right?" Chenille agreed, blueberries beginning to smudge on her face. "Well…" she said, swallowing the fruit. "We did...you know...eat all his blueberries…"

"Yeah well he'll get over it," Satin shrugged. "So anyway…"

"Just because we shared some blueberries doesn't mean I agree to go!"

"What is so bad about getting a little drunk once in awhile?"

"I've never drank."

"Because you're afraid."

"No, I'm afraid of what the _outcome_ will be." She had seen her sister drunk on more than one occasion and she got pretty crazy.

Satin sighed. "Fine. I won't make you drink! And I told Poppy and Mr. Wrinkles you'd come!"

"Ughh why me?" Chenille whined. "Wait- Mr. Wrinkles?!"

"I said Branch."

"No you didn't-"

"I know what I said girl!"

Chenille rolled her eyes, wondering why her and Branch could never just get along. Her and Branch got along just fine, but she was different from Satin and she could no longer keep her sister from doing things. They were adults and they'd have to figure their issues out themselves eventually.

"I just don't understand why you need me. You'll have Poppy and Griffin!"

"Yeah but I want my sissy-poo!" she said in a rather babyish voice, wrapping her into a hug so their cheeks bumped. "You _have_ to come baby-boo!"

"Alright, get off me," Chenille grumped, trying to wiggle out of her embrace but she was clinging on her tight.

"Not until you agree you'll go!"

"Okay, fine! I'll go! But I'm not drinking!"

"Yay!" Satin chirped, clapping her hands together before hugging her even tighter than before.

"You always get what you want," Chenille sighed, her slightly chubby cheek on her shoulder. She did not return the hug; she decided to just wait until her sister pulled away.

"Oh yeah! And I got you a date! You're welcome!"

"Oh," Chenille smiled until she realized what she actually said. "WAIT WHAT?!"


	7. Lightweight (Part 1)

Chenille scrubbed the empty bowl of blueberries out of her own nervousness. "I can't believe you did this behind my back, Satin!"

Her sister remained calm. "I told you just now, so technically I didn't."

"You should have asked me if I was okay with it!"

Satin snorted. "Yeah, like you would say it's okay. I know you! There was no way you'd agree!"

Chenille slowed down a little at that statement. Satin was right. She wouldn't agree. She never agreed. The blue troll tot a deep breath and scrubbed the bowl until it was squeaky clean and put it in the dishwasher along with the other dirty dishes. "Maybe I would have if you told me!" she scowled, approaching her and swatting her with a dirty rag with each word.

"Awww man, now my face is dirty," she pouted.

"You deserved that."

"You're so mean to me," Satin mumbled, approaching the sink while Chenille sat down back on the table, cupping her face in her hands. "At least let me tell you about him."

Chenille sighed, feeling her head start to pound. "Fine, who's the dude?"

"Well," she started, washing her face before taking her makeup bag out of her hair. "Griffin knows a guy. Well...he's more of his best friend. His name is Cody, and...uh…"

"Is that all?"

Satin looked up from the tiny mirror she was holding. "Cmon! Cody is a sexy name!"

"Satin! You're married!"

"I know, it's not like I'm hooking up with him! That is gonna be your job."

Chenille felt the tips of her ears go hot at this statement. "S-Satin! You are getting ahead of yourself." She refused to make eye-contact with her smirking sister. "Now what's he like? Is he nice? Is he good with kids?" She knew by now her sister wasn't going to let this go, so she needed to at least know what she was getting into. Doubt filled her mind that anything would really happen.

"No Chenille, he's a horrible, disgusting person and terrible with kids." Satin rolled her eyes. "Is that what you wanna hear? That all men are the same?"

Chenille opened her mouth to answer until Satin went on.

"Do you really think I'd do that to you? After what I've known what you've been through?"

"No…" she answered softly.

"Griffin has known him for a long time," she continued. "You'll be in good hands. Things just might work out." Satin gave her a small smile that surprisingly calmed her nerves. Although it still wasn't enough to reassure her completely.

"Hello people!" a familiar voice of Chloe broke the silence.

"Speak out the devil," Satin chuckled.

"Hey!" Chloe pouted. "I'm not a devil, right Gem?" Before Gem knew it her cousin took her hand and led her into the kitchen where her mother and aunt were.

"What have you up to?" Satin asked her daughter. "I woke up this morning and you were gone!"

"I was working on my cheer moves!" Chloe explained proudly. "There's no doubt I'll make the squad!"

"Now, I wouldn't get too cocky-" Chenille began.

"Yes you are! Confidence is key," Satin smiled, giving Chenille a nudge as if she was telling her she needed to get confidence lessons from Chloe. She loved her niece and all, but she was a bit too overconfident in herself. But Satin was always encouraging to her. Perhaps it was because she was her only child. Chenille always supported Seth and Gem's dreams, but Gem lacked confidence as well, and Seth didn't apply himself as much as he could have. Her only hope as her children grew into adults that they'd have courage to follow their dreams.

The big difference when it came to her and Satin's parenting was that Satin spoiled her. Everything Chloe wanted, Chloe got. Chloe had what she wanted while Seth and Gem had what they needed.

This, however, did not make Satin a bad mother- she was indeed a great one. There were times when Chenille thought she could do some things differently. This didn't make Griffin a bad father, either. Griffin did not spoil her as much. She knew she could get away with way more in Satin's watch. Griffin and Satin had different ways of showing their affection to Chloe.

Point was, they both loved her and wanted what was best. And they loved each other, which was important. If only she could say the same thing about her spouse.

But, that's a story she'd been trying to forget for long, long time.

* * *

"Do I _have_ to wear this?" Branch grumped as he studied himself in the mirror. He was stripped by Poppy from his normal vest and shorts. He now wore a half-buttoned white coat with the sleeves half rolled up. To top it, Poppy had put a yellow flower in the pocket that made him feel ridiculous. For the bottoms, he wore black jeans that went down to his ankles (Poppy had digged through Elliot's closet to find them simply because in her opinion Branch didn't have any nice bottom shorts).

Branch's main concern was that he was going to stretch out Elliot's pants. Since he was built more like Poppy, he was more slender and slightly taller than Branch was.

"I think it looks good!" Elliot said, seeming like he wanting to cheer up his dad more than compliment him.

"I know right?!" Poppy asked excitedly, before Branch could say anything, gripping her husband's blue shoulders and bumped cheeks with him lovingly.

Branch heaved a sigh while Poppy turned to Maddy, who was petting Cardigan. "Yeah I don't care," she said.

"I think you look very handsome Daddy!" Zander chirped, looking up from brushing Cardigan's fur. He did not pity him like Elliot nor did he simply not care, like Maddy. He could tell by his voice that Zander was more genuine.

Branch smiled. "Thanks, Zander. Make sure not to get the fur on the floor, he isn't even supposed to be in the house…"

"Aww c'mon Branchie! They just gave him a bath."

"I don't think jumping into the lake and swimming around in it counts as a bath," Branch said dryly, recalling earlier this afternoon when Elliot and Zander took Cardigan for a swim. The brothers had just came home not a half an hour ago; Cardigan's fur still a bit damp. Elliot had a towel wrapped around his neck after his shower; Maddy and Elliot knew they were gonna have to be in charge of giving Zander his bath when their parents went out. The purple troll did not like baths, so there was no way Maddy was planning on doing it, she didn't have to patience. _Elliot could do it,_ she thought, sitting up on the bed.

As Cardigan curled up Branch snapped his finger. "No! Bad boy! Down!"

"Awww leave him alone! He's just tired," Poppy said, smiling as Zander snuggled next to him, beginning to suck his thumb. "Such beautiful boys," she cooed putting on her earrings. Poppy wore a strapless light green dress that went down to her knees; and whether than her normal flower headband, she wore a headband with a pretty blue gem on it. Her hair was worn in a tight bun.

"Such a beautiful wife…" Branch echoed, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder blade.

"Ew!" Maddy covered her eyes, quickly sitting up from the bed. "You could at least wait until we have cleared the room!" The pink troll made her exit and made it quick.

Elliot chuckled, knowing well that his parents loved each other and needed space. "Yeah yeah, I'm gonna go take a shower. You guys have fun, incase I don't see ya!"

"You're in charge!" Branch called.

"Got it!" the blue prince called before he made his way to his room.

Branch took this time to kiss his wife while Zander and Cardigan were fast asleep.

* * *

Branch knew the moment he opened the door that Satin was going to be the first to laugh at him. "Nice flower!" she chortled.

"Shut up…" he murmured, not facing her.

"Now now, we arranged this so you two would get along," Griffin pointed out. "And that's why we brought Chloe."

"Dad, for the thousandth time I don't want to help Maddy babysit Zander," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "Why cant Coral come over while you go out instead?"

"That was never the plan," Griffin said.

"Their idea, not mine," Satin told her, putting her hands on her hips.

Branch strained his ears when he saw Elliot coming down the stairs. "Oh good, you haven't left yet. I was wondering-"

"Oh, I'll stay if I _have_ to." Chloe pretended to be crestfallen with her head down. Elliot knew what this was about.

"I'm...gonna go back upstairs…" the blue troll backed up, nervously smiling at all of them. "Maddy your friend is here!" he called, taking this chance to run back into his room and slam the door shut.

Maddy raised an eyebrow as she stepped out of her bed. _Sparkie…?_ Her parents couldn't have forgotten she was grounded! Did they? A smile formed on Maddy's face at the thought of Sparkie. It had only been a day and she already missed her. She saw her all the time. Maddy would come over or she'd go over to her house. She liked to call herself Guy and Suki's adopted daughter, and Poppy and Branch were like her second parents.

She skipped downstairs and whistled a silly tune until her shoulders dropped when she saw Chloe in her house yet again. She knew this was probably another attempt for them to get along. "Oh, _you're_ here…"

"Yeah like seeing your face brightens my day!" Chloe said sarcastically, her arms still crossed.

"Be nice," Griffin said through his teeth.

"Only if she will be," Chloe sighed.

Maddy simply rolled her eyes at this. Chloe was rude to her so why couldn't she be rude back?

"How about you _both_ be nice?" Poppy asked hopefully.

Maddy and Chloe just stared at each other while Branch gave them instructions, pacing back and forth. "Now make sure Zander gets his bath, put a reasonable amount of bubbles. I don't wanna come home to see our pod full of bubbles-"

"Branch, Maddy is sixteen years old- do you really think you need to give her this lecture? We are wasting time. The sooner we get there the sooner this night will be over!" Satin pointed out.

Poppy nodded in agreement while Branch huffed. "Fine," he growled.

"Elliot could give him a bath," Maddy said nonchalantly.

"No, this is a teamwork kind of thing," Griffin said. "There's no "I" in team," he smiled gently.

"There's an "I" in Elliot," Chloe said. "He can he on our team!" she suggested, putting her arm around Maddy who didn't look too happy.

"The important thing is that he gets his bath," Poppy said, kissing Maddy's forehead. "We'll be back later."

"Please be responsible," Branch told Maddy worriedly.

"Be nice," Griffin nagged quickly before being dragged out by Satin.

* * *

"Seth, please don't get in any trouble," Chenille said, slipping on a scarf. "And no friends over. You're still grounded."

"Yeah, you kinda remind me every second of the day," he sighed, sitting next to Gem on the couch. The green troll, quiet as always, gave him a nudge not to be rude.

"And that is why I'm leaving Gem in charge."

Seth's eyes widened while Gem smirked as if she was saying _you heard her._ His mother had been doing a lot of rambling the past ten minutes, but he didn't think it'd lead to _this_ conclusion. " _What_? She's _younger!_ I should be the boss of _her_!"

"Well you haven't done the best at proving that you are responsible this week," the blue troll pointed out, patting the pillows on the couch and setting them back down again. "Sometimes I think Gem is more responsible than you."

Seth rubbed his chest. "That hurts, Mom. Really hearts."

This was enough to make Chenille chuckle.

"It's not funny," he said dryly. "I feel some heartburn coming on."

"Not my problem." She smiled in amusement. "It's not funny, just adorable." She kissed his chubby cheek, making him turn slightly red as he wiped her lipstick off.

Gem giggled but jumped in surprise when she heard her mother screech.

"THEY'RE HERE!"

"Dude, why are you anxious?" Seth asked, rubbing his poor ears.

"Well...cause uh…"

The door began to pound. "OPEN UP LOSER WE'RE GOING TO GET WASTED!"

Chenille bit her lip as she slowly approached the door. "I-I changed my mind! I don't wanna go!"

"I feel you Chenille!" Branch said.

"Cmon! Don't be a party pooper!" Poppy called through the door. "That's Branch's job!"

"Good one Poppy," Satin giggled.

She didn't need to even look at the group to see Branch's glare.

"I can't! I...I'm sick!" Chenille pretended to cough. "I'm very contagious!"

"BOOOO YOU WHORE!" Satin called.

Seth burst out into peals of laughter. "Ha! Aunt Satin called you a whore!"

Chenille glared at him before resting her cheek on the doorframe. "Quit making Mean Girls references!" she hissed.

"See, you are fine," Poppy assured. "C'mon. C'mon out. Im sure you look great." Her voice sounded friendly, making her heart rate slow down a bit. Poppy could always do that. She knew how to comfort people. It was one of her many talents.

Chenille poked her eye through the peephole of the door. All of her friends looked rather nice tonight. She guessed she looked alright, but there was no way she could pull of the beautiful dress such as Poppy's- or Satin's glittery black one. Even Griffin looked nice- he still wore his yellow bandana but wore a navy blue blazer underneath his teal tank top with his normal yellow shorts. He also wore black shiny shoes that he'd often look down at, finding it satisfying that the moon reflected on them.

As she slowly opened the door she began to feel more nervous. _They are your friends...what's the issue?_ She had gotten so unconfident sometimes she got shy around her own friends.

In my opinion, she looked more than alright. She was the only girl in the group that actually wore a dress with straps, but nonetheless it was beautiful. A lavender purple that went down to about where her ankle bracelet was, with silver, tiny, sparkling gems on the bottom. For her hair, she decided to leave it down yet she put a flower in it.

Satin smiled as long as well as rest of the group, but her face suddenly dropped when she noticed there were a few things that could easily be fixed.

"Lose the scarf, it's summer and it's hideous," she said quickly, ignoring Chenille protesting.

"You got me that scarf for Trollmas!"

"That was so last season!" she said, slipping it off her neck and throwing it so it landed right on top of Seth.

"Hey!" the dark blue troll pouted while Gem softly giggled.

The next thing Satin did made Chenille feel even more exposed. The pink troll lightly tugged on the sleeves and pulled them more outwards; than slightly pulled her dress down, almost making her flash Branch and Griffin.

"Satin!" Chenille scolded, pulling her dress back up.

"What?! Im making you look sexy!" she explained nonchalantly, moving it back down like it was before.

"Don't say that in front of Seth and Gem," she whispered harshly.

"They know what it means! Besides, don't you wanna look your sexiest when you meet Cody?"

"Who's Cody?" Seth asked, his voice suddenly getting a bit protective.

"Cody's her date!" Poppy said excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"You didn't tell me that," Seth said, staring at his Mom. " _That's_ why you've been so nervous…"

"Y-Yeah…"

"So where is this Cody?" Seth asked, standing up.

"He said he'll meet us there," Griffin told him.

"Don't be so overprotective, your Mama is in good hands," Satin assured him, gripping Chenille's wrist. "Let's go!"

"Bye my babies! Love you!" Chenille called before the door shut.

Seth looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. He still wasn't sure.

* * *

Poppy and Satin watched continually as Cody entered the bar and sat down. "Griffin says he always comes here on Saturday nights," Satin whispered.

"Okay," said Poppy carefully. "He's cute," she observed.

"Who's cute?!" asked Branch, slightly jealous, getting in the middle of them.

Satin just huffed while Poppy giggled. "That one over there," Satin said.

"You're right, he looks dreamy."

The girls both stared at him for a while like they didn't know who he was. "What? If you guys can call a guy cute while you are happily married so can I!"

"That's kinda gay Branch," Satin murmured.

Poppy laughed. "I'm pretty sure Branch is 100% straight. Need I remind you that I bared his children," she smirked.

"P-Poppy!"

"Well I did," she said.

" _Anyway_ ," Satin interjected, no longer wanting to think about Branch's sexuality or him and Poppy's baby making. "You remember the plan?"

"Plan? What plan?" Branch asked, still confused.

"Oh Branch, Branch, Branch. You poor clueless thing you. Why don't you go and get us something to drink?" Satin asked.

"Sure, I'll get _Poppy_ something to drink," Branch smirked. "What do you want dearest?"

Poppy stared at him blankly. "Surprise me. _And_ Satin." When this did not look like enough to convince Branch, Poppy approached him and whispered in his ear harshly, "Or you aren't getting anything tonight."

As Poppy walked back she swung her hips slightly, making the tips of Branch's ears even more of a darker purple than they already were when she made him the deal.

"F-Fine, what do you want Satin?" he asked through his teeth.

" _Smile_ ," Poppy mouthed- even demonstrating it for him.

He huffed and forced a smile.

"Surprise me too," Satin said, smiling and crossing her arms, glad Poppy was able to change his mind just by whispering one thing in his ear.

As the blue troll walked away the female trolls laughed. "You have him, Poppy," Satin said. "Your wish is his command. Its how it's always been, honestly."

Poppy nodded in agreement. She always could convince Branch even when it was something he really didn't want to do. Even during the days where he was grey Poppy was the only one who could hold a conversation with him without getting scared or frustrated, she was the only one he allowed in her bunker, and the only one he had ever loved.

"Anyway," Satin said rather quickly, sitting up in her seat. "Remember the plan?" she repeated.

"Right up here!" Poppy said, pointing to her head.

"Tell me in detail."

"Okay, so we wait for Griffin's signal-"

"Now, now, what did I say before that?"

"Oh yeah! You told Chenille that you got her a date just to get her here, because she wouldn't agree otherwise."

"It took _some_ convincing," Satin noted.

"Right." Poppy remembered their conversation from earlier.

Poppy felt a nudge when Griffin came back with Chenille, a drink in his hand while Chenille stood nervously. "I don't know about this, Griffin!"

"You'll do fine," he said, giving her a small smile and looking up at Poppy and Satin, waiting until she wasn't paying attention to lightly brush his finger on his nose.

Poppy and Satin copied this action and approached them. "He's right over there," said Poppy, pointing at the red troll who still had his back turned.

"Hey Cody! Over here!" Satin called.

"Don't call him over!" Chenille begged, hiding her face. "I'm not ready!"

"Cmon, you look amazing!" Poppy smiled, giving her a small smile.

"N-No, I don't think so…" she stammered unconfidently, fixing her dress but the red troll was making his way over.

Chenille peeked through her fingers as he got closer. She slowly began to move her hands. He was...an impressive troll...everything seemed to move in slow motion the closer he got.

This did not have the same effect on the rest of the group.

"See! That's the look I was talking about when she sees someone hot," Satin said excitedly, nudging both Griffin and Poppy.

"Shh…" Griffin hushed her, putting his finger to her lips. "Hi Cody, this is Chenille, Satin's twin!"

Satin squeezed her sister's arms, who still had her jaw dropped. It wasn't long until Chenille cleared her throat and laughed nervously. "Cmon, dont be shy!" Satin gave her a light push, making her fall right into his arms.

"Careful, there," said the red troll, slightly smirking in amusement.

Chenille took this time to get a good look at his eyes. They were a beautiful shade of purple. The type that could make someone melt.

"I...uh...I…" she stuttered.

"What do you say we get something to drink?" he asked, smiling.

Chenille cleared her throat. "No. No, um, I don't drink."

"Chenille would be happy to!" Satin interrupted them, slapping her slightly on the back, earning a glare from her sister.

"Awesome!" Before she knew it the red troll took his rather large hand and placed it in her rather small one, making her almost fall over. Chenille looked back at them nervously- as if she did not know what to do- before looking back and taking a seat at the bar.

Meanwhile, Branch finally had gotten the drinks, tilting his head slightly at Chenille and the unfamiliar red troll.

"Here, just take a sip. You'll like it," he was saying.

"What? No way! I'm not drinking out of you...for all I know it could have a sore throat or something."

"You're right, I have mono."

"What- the kissing disease?! That is disgusting!" the blue troll crossed her arms until her ear twitched at his chuckle.

"I was kidding," he said, scoffing a little and not even hesitate before asking, "Don't you ever smile?"

"What's that suppose to mean?!"

"You have a cute pouty face," he snickered.

Chenille stood up. "You know what-" she was taken aback when she felt her back press against Branch's belly. "Oh, sorry Branch," she apologized to the blue King.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, looking at Cody.

"Yes! There sure is! Satin set me up on a date with-"

"Wait, Griffin didn't tell me this was a date," Cody interrupted her.

"Uh oh," Satin said.

"You two are on a date?" Branch asked, slowly backing up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"No! Branch! Wait!" Chenille gripped his wrist and dragged him back. "Don't leave me alone with him," she whispered.

"You don't need to be afraid of him," Griffin told her, taking a few steps forward. "He's my best friend."

"Awww! Dude! Always sticking up for me!" Cody grinned, his heartstrings touched as he stood on his feet and hugged the purple troll.

"Dude!" Griffin repeated, hugging him again and patting his back.

The male trolls stayed like that for quite some time until Griffin heard someone clear their throat. He opened his yellow eyes to see his wife with her arms crossed, not at all amused by this. Griffin and Cody's friendship was a beautiful thing, but even though he was another guy, Satin got jealous over almost anyone nowadays.

When Cody opened his purple eyes Chenille had her head tilted like a confused puppy. It was very cute in his opinion. It amused him.

Griffin cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Are you sure Cody isn't gay?" Chenille flatly asked Satin.

Griffin answered for her. "Nah, he's straight. I'm the gay one," Griffin said in a gay voice.

"Just stop," Satin shook her head and leaned her hands against the table even less amused. She sat next to Cody while Griffin sat down and apologized to his wife. She made awkward eye contact with Chenille who was looking at her helplessly.

" _Talk to him,"_ she mouthed.

Branch approached Poppy and handed her her drink. "Thanks," she said taking a sip. "Cocktail?"

"Yep," he said. "I know it's your favorite."

Poppy smiled and thanked him again. She nudged him. "Now go give Satin hers," she said in a motherly voice as if she was talking to Zander. She even gave him a small push on the back that made Branch sigh a little.

"Here," he said, pushing the drink in front of her. "It's a margarita."

"Oh, uh, thanks," she said, pretending to be nonchalant on the outside but on the inside she was rather impressed by this. She loved margaritas…

 _Poppy surely would have told him,_ she decided, shrugging it off.

 _Or Griffin…_

She glanced at her husband who was resting his head on the table. "Tired?" Satin asked.

"A little," he said. "It's been a long week."

"I can fix that," the pink troll smirked, beginning to rub his shoulders.

Griffin eyes widened at this, he was not a fan of public affection. His breaths became slightly hitched. "Y-You don't have to-"

"You deserve it," she smirked even me.

He let out a small moan and leaned his head on her chest.

"It feels good huh?"

"Yeah…" Griffin replied dreamily, forgetting where they were.

Cody gave Chenille a nudge. "What do you say you rub my shoulders?" he smirked.

"No way!" she said, looking away from him while he just chuckled.

"You're so easy."

"EASY? IM EASY? YOU KNOW, YOU AREN'T MAKING A VERY GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!"

Suddenly about twenty pairs of eyes were on suddenly on her, including her friends.

She blinked a few times. Someone coughed before everyone slowly yet awkwardly went back to what they were doing. Chenille hid her face that was still hot with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking back at the red troll. "It's...been a long time since I've done this."

Cody thought about this and smiled. "It's okay."

Wow. Just like that...he understood? "I think this was a mistake coming here," she said, standing up. "I'm sorry about the miscommunication. I thought I was going on a date because that's what _Satin_ told me." She glared at her sister, who quickly sipped her drink and looked away.

Cody wasn't going to admit that he was the type not to particularly go on dates, and that girls just more so came to him. He didn't let them down, either.

"I think she did it because she cares about you," he said.

"I-I do…" Satin said, standing up and tumbling slightly.

Chenille glanced at the empty glass, her eyes widening slightly.

"I love you! I love you I love you!" she said in a musical voice, clinging onto her and lifting her feet off the ground. "I love you sissy…" she whispered.

"See?" Cody insisted, seeming amused that Satin was drunk.

The pink troll dropped Chenille on the floor and banged her hands on the bar table. "Someone give me another round!"

"Are you okay?!" Cody asked, quickly helping her up. His hands were so warm…

 _Snap out of it!_

"I'm alright," she said, gathering her thoughts together.

When the pair got back onto the table Satin stared at the margarita for a while as Griffin began to protest. "Maybe we should just…" He reached out for the drink.

"It's mine!" she said possibly, then pouted a little, stroking the glass. "Mine…"

"We could share?" Griffin suggested hopefully, slightly reaching for the glass.

Satin still wasn't convinced until something on her drunk mind seemed to click. "You're right." Hiccup. "I've been selfish…" she smiled wide. "Hey!" she yelled at the bartender who was polishing an empty glance. He rolled his eyes while Griffin clenched his teeth together. Branch and Poppy shared the same confused glance while Chenille hid her face once again.

"What is it now, mam?"

"I need uh...six more! Wait…" she squinted her eyes. "Yeah six more...including myself! Its...It's on me!"

* * *

"You know what…?" Satin asked, even more drunk as she played with Branch's hair while he giggled like a little girl.

"What?" he grinned.

"You…aren't so bad…"

"Oh...yeah, you neither, Satan…"

Satin stared at him for a while until she giggled a little, her giggles turning into laughs that turned into snorts as well as Branch.

There was a sudden stop. "What's so funny?" asked the pink troll blankly.

Branch shrugged sloppily in response.

Poppy, Griffin, Cody and Chenille were the only sober ones at this point. Griffin had only took a few sips of his drink as well as Poppy, and right now they stared at their spouses.

Poppy clenched her fists, every ounce of her body dripping with jealousy. "They're flirting with each other! This isn't what I wanted!"

"I don't think they are. It's just the drink, they don't know what they are saying," Griffin explained.

As Poppy took time to consider this, Chenille remained completely sober of any drink.

"How come you don't want to drink?" Cody asked after several moments of silence. He noticed she looked in deep thought. Sometimes she'd look back at her sister and Branch and roll her eyes and other times she'd look at him as if she was trying to figure him out. Other times she'd look into nothingness and then _he'd_ be the one to try to figure her out. He never could. She'd never tell even if he asked. He learned that much judging by many things. Honestly, he didn't know what to think of her but she was...different.

"I just don't," she answered.

"Cmon, that isn't a reason."

"I've got kids."

"How old?"

"Sixteen and fourteen." There was so much more than she was letting on, he knew. Her fear of drinking, as I have said was simply the outcome. She kept to herself what she feared that would be. Even though Seth and Gem were growing up, she didn't want to get so drunk she hurt them, just like…

"Oh," he replied. "You still deserve a drink every now and then, being a single parent."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," she muttered, heaving a sigh and rubbing her fingers through the glass of the margarita.

"And why is that?"

"When you have kids of your own-"

"I have a daughter," he interrupted her, finishing his whiskey.

Chenille gasped slightly in surprise. "You?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, me. What's the problem?"

"You just…" she paused. "You just don't seem like the type, you know?"

"Maybe you shouldn't judge someone before you get to know them. Know what they are about. " He gave her a friendly wink. "And, hey, take a risk every once in awhile, will ya? Someone once told be the best thing you can do in life is take risks, so you won't live your life in regret."

"I have many regrets," she said so quietly that he could barely hear her. She did not intend to say that aloud. If he had heard her he did not respond.

She stared into the water she had gotten and looked at her reflection. She found herself scarlet when she felt his right cheek on her left one. He looked at the water too and smiled at their reflection.

"I don't think you realize how beautiful you are," he said softly.

He was right. She did not.

Chenille scoffed. "Im sure you say that to _all_ the girls."

"No, just you."

He looked and sounded honest but she still wasn't sure if she believed him. And he knew that she knew that he was the womanizer type.

That's when it hit him.

"I say it...because, well, people I have dated in the past...they already know that. They don't need someone to remind them of their beauty like you do."

Chenille was ready to give him the "I'm an independent woman and don't need a man to tell me I'm beautiful to know I am" speech, but she held her breath. She couldn't seem to gather the right words for it, thus she didn't say it. She didn't say it like she normally would to the guys that Satin forced upon her. She didn't know what stopped her, but something did.

* * *

 **Yeah so this chapter was getting kinda long, I know :p So I decided to stop for now and spilt it into two parts since I know what I wanna do. I just didn't expect it to drag out this much lol. The next chapter will probably be shorter.**

 **I really hope ya'll are still reading! I haven't heard from anyone from a while so please tell me what you think!**

 **There's a lot of hints about Chenille's past in her pay attention, her story is important for one of the main plots (I know there are many). And what do you guys think of Cody?!**

 **Anyway, it's like 2 in the morning so I'm going to bed XD Please R &R!**


	8. Lightweight (Part 2)

A few moments had gone by, and Poppy could no longer take this. She couldn't stand the fact that Branch was flirting with Satin! They hated each other! How could she not realized before tonight that things were never going to change? Why must she have to be so determined? And Maddy didn't need to get along with Chloe! It was not _their_ fault they were too much like their parents.

But, when Poppy had her mind set on something she did anything in her power to make it happen. But this? This was barbaric.

"Griffin we have to do something!" Poppy finally said with her voice irrigated, fist clenched and face red.

Griffin shared a similar icy glare when he actually realized they were hugging each other tightly. No one cuddled with Satin like that other than him! His face too became red with jealousy and he crossed his purple arms.

Griffin didn't even wait for Poppy as he approached the pair, now drunk senseless with their eyes half closed.

Branch was the first to see them, loosening his grip on Satin, making her nearly fall over if Griffin hadn't caught her. (And no, he was not happy, but of course when the person you love falls you catch them no matter what you are feeling.)

"Oh h-hey b-beautiful…" Branch stuttered, almost tripping as he got up on his feet. Once again, just like Griffin, Poppy caught him before he fell so his face was near her chest and if it weren't for her pink hands holding his chubby head up, he'd surely fall. "Where have you been…? You're missing out on the party…" he began to sniff up her neck and lay soft kisses on it.

Poppy almost had forgotten everything until he hiccuped midway to her collarbone she snapped out of it. "Oh be quiet! It wasn't a party- you were flirting!"

"Only with you," he whispered in that lustful voice that he only had done when he was drunk. It was a voice he knew Poppy could never resist. His lips travel to her cheeks, making her giggle.

Unlike Poppy, Griffin did not give in easily. Well, he was trying to. "You-You're like a giant grape…" Satin was saying, poking at his cheeks. " _My_ giant grape…" she giggled, beginning to kiss them.

Although he didn't feel as jealous, he now just wanted to get the pink troll home and to bed. She was definitely going to feel this in the morning.

"See!" Chenille said to Cody, pointed at them. "That's exactly why I don't wanna get drunk! I'll turn out like them!"

"Nah, you'll turn out like any drunk person," Cody insisted nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not doing it," she concluded flatly. Why did everyone want her to drink? It's not like it'd solve any problems she had or make her forget the real world around her.

"Alright," he said, "I'll just take this margarita and be on my way…"

As Cody walked away Chenille felt a lump in her throat. She didn't know him well, yet she wanted him to stay. She did not want to admit this but deep down she liked his company. "Hey, come back, I-I don't wanna be alone."

If he wasn't turning around Chenille would have seen that he was smirking. They both knew it wasn't the margarita she wanted- she couldn't care less about that- no, he knew what she wanted. It was something he knew by now that it was not something she'd admit.

Simply, she wanted someone to love her. Something she kept hush hush on because it seemed as if she didn't want anyone to think that of her. It wasn't a bad thing to want someone to love you- which is why he didn't understand her. In a way she sent mixed signals. Another way he could possibly tell was because she had to have gotten hurt in the past, someone must've hurt her back. Someone must've hardened her. This is why he found her different.

Chenille bit her lip as he stood there to think about this, his back facing her. "I...I'll drink! Just don't go!"

Despite what Cody thought, Cody was Cody and he was still going to give her a hard time. "Desperate much?"

" _Excuse_ me?"

He continued, finally turning his back and smirking. "Ms. 'This isn't a date'?"

She wrinkled her nose. "It is not!"

"Then why do you want me to stay?" he challenged her. "Already find me the sexiest man alive?"

Chenille blushed at this statement but remained cold. Cody was a rather sexy troll but she wasn't going to say that _aloud._

"No," she said, her nose still shivering a little bit, reminding him of a confused bunny.

He snickered as he walked back to her and sat down, placing the drink in front of her. "A deal is a deal."

Chenille looked at the drunk and then looked back up nervously. He smirked once again and gave her a look as if he was telling her to go right ahead and there was nothing to fear.

So, she took a leap of faith and took a huge sip.

* * *

"I-I don't wanna go home!" Satin protested as Griffin tried to get a good grip on his wife. "I want more!"

"No," Griffin said sternly. "We are getting Chloe and we are going home. That is final."

"Nooo...I wanna stay!" she pouted, crossing her arms but by this point Griffin could easily pick her up over his shoulders and carry her out while she protested.

"Bye guys," Griffin said to all of them.

"Bye," Poppy said, looking over at Branch who had fallen asleep on her chest. The sight warmed her heart, and she knew that she should get home too.

"Oh, hey Griffin?" she called.

The purple troll turned his head. "Stop turning…" Satin said, holding her mouth.

"Yeah?" Griffin asked, giving her a soft smile.

"We're gonna get going too," she told him, glancing at Chenille and Cody. "What about you Chenille? Want us to walk you home?"

"Oh _god,_ " Satin said, quickly getting off of Griffin and running into the bathroom and letting everything out while Griffin quickly followed, not caring that he ran straight into the woman's bathroom.

Poppy simply sighed, When she getting a closer look at Chenille and Cody, (she was sitting a few seats away), she observed one empty glass of a margarita and two empty glasses of whiskey.

Poppy's eyes widened, staring at Cody. "Oh my…did she…?"

Cody slowly nodded and looked at the blue troll, her non stop giggling somewhat amused him. He tilted his head in confusion when Chenille began to take off her earrings and shove them into his chest. "H-Here," she hiccuped, a grin still on her face. "Take them."

"Umm...why?" asked the red troll, still confused. He knew he was drunk but he had never encountered a female troll drunk enough to give him her earrings.

"It's a gift..." she giggled, dangling her fingers on his tank top before taking the earrings out of his hand and placing them in one of the upper pockets of his leather jacket. "From me...t-to you…" She patted the pocket a few times, slowly backing up and giving him a wink, trying to prove that she was just as sexy when she was drunk. This more so amused Cody then put him in the mood to do anything to someone he hardly knew, but it did happen... on some occasions...but not tonight. If she did not want to do anything he'd respect that, and he was sure she wouldn't be too happy in the morning if it were to happen.

When she was drunk, he found her to be a completely different from the troll he met earlier. He liked it. He liked both sides of her. There was something, however, about the tough and not easy to get Chenille, rather than drunk Chenille, who would be easy.

But for now he was not going to try anything. He had a kid at home who was awaiting her return. Well, her auntie was probably making her go to sleep but he knew she was wide awake. She always waited until he came home, and when Nina, her aunt left they'd stay up and watch movies all weekend.

"Alright, let's go," Poppy said, getting up while Branch drooled on the counter. This was too much drunkenness that she could take for one night, and she was beginning to feel a bit tired and annoyed with it all. The fact that Cody was able to convince her to drink truly had to count for something. No one else could. But just like branch and Satin, she was going to feel it in the morning. Another part of her even still a little jealous over Branch and Satin flirting with each other.

"I've got her, Queen Poppy," Cody chuckled, feeling himself blush slightly as he grabbed her by her lower waist. He never was one to blush that much when doing that to any woman, but something felt a little different and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. She helped him, clumsily gripping his back and nuzzling her face in his chest so that he felt her lips against his neck.

"You...You're so warm...w-what cologne do you use?" she began sniff his neck and chest, inhaling rather deeply while Cody looked rather shocked.

"I've never seen her so bold," Griffin chuckled once they got back from the bathroom, pulling a now sleepy Satin close to him. She let out a groan, plopping her cheek on his forehead. "My head…"

Griffin instinctively began to rub her forehead while facing his friend.

"Me neither," Cody agreed.

* * *

"So I give this kid everything, right?" Chenille rambled on the way home, clumsily walking beside Cody who kept a close eye on her, hoping she wouldn't trip. "And then guess what he goes and does?! He gets in a stupid food fight! Yeah, so mature huh? He's a boob. Seth is a boob. And he always walks around all tough, like this."

Chenille began to demonstrate the way Seth walked, running a finger through her hair and pursing her lips together. "Hey, I'm Seth and I like pretty girls and have _manly urges_ so I take _long_ showers now-a-days!" she mimicked in the deepest voice she could do (this was a rather bad impression of Seth, in case you were wondering), walking around in circles around the group.

Branch was the only one to laugh at this, clapping his hands together like an amused little boy. "Do it again! Do it again!"

The rest of the group protested Chenille just giggled and bit her lip, making Poppy once again jealous. Now _Chenille_ was flirting with him!

"No, _don't_ do it again," Poppy said dryly, pulling Branch close to her.

"W-Why not, babe? She's great at impressions," Branch said, playing with her hair.

"Yeah she's really not," Satin said, for once agreeing with the blue troll. "She's just a show off."

"Oh, is someone jealous?" Chenille smirked, putting one of her hands on her hips.

"Jealous? Of a blue, less hotter version of me? I'd think not!" Satin said, crossing her arms.

"Jealous," Chenille mumbled. "You are jealous that you aren't in the spotlight for once."

"Ohhhh, I see, the truth comes out when you're drunk."

"You're the one who wanted me to drink!"

"You wanna go?! I can take you!"

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Branch chanted, putting his fists up.

"BRANCH!" Poppy scolded, swatting his arm while Cody and Griffin managed to pull them any from each other until before they could throw a punch (their clumsy, drunk fists probably would have missed anyway). "There will be _no_ fighting!"

"I'll get you!" Satin growled.

"No, I'll get _you_!" Chenille hissed.

"Whoa whoa feisty pants," Cody said trying to calm her down but she still struggled. "Just be calm. Let it be."

Although she was beginning to calm down, she felt something rise in the back of her throat but she tried to ignore it. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" she began to laugh but suddenly tangled herself from his grip and ran into some bushes and just as Satin done, let it all out.

"Oh Chenille," Poppy sighed sympathetically, now feeling bad that she was jealous.

"Heh, loser," Satin snickered. Griffin interrupted her by nudging her.

"Quit being mean."

Cody rolled his eyes in amusement as the couple got into a silly fight. He tilted his head as he approached the bush. "Chenille? You okay?"

"Bleh!"

This went on for a few second she appeared of the bush, her ears droopy and she was holding the flower she put in. Tonight was terrible. She never should have drank.

She was embarrassed enough. So embarrassed she could barely even look at Cody. "Could-Could you take me home…?" she asked, her head still low.

She gasped slightly in surprise when he cuffed her chin, making her look at him. He smiled at her warmly. She was nervous. It was faces like this that made her nervous. "Sure."

* * *

Poppy sighed in relief that she was finally home. There was nothing in the world she wanted more right now then her soft bed. She felt like she could sleep for a month. This was a terrible idea.

As she opened the door she was surprised to find Maddy in a puffy, light pink dress and white tights. Her hair was in pigtails tired with ribbons and she wore a fake golden crown that must've been Chloe's because Poppy had never seen it.

Chloe stood beside her, smiling slightly as she took a loose lock of hair and brushed it behind her ear.

"Stop touching me!" Maddy growled, swatting her hand.

"Doesn't she look just _beautiful_?" Chloe asked excitedly, chuckling and rubbing her hand. "Ain't she a doll?"

Poppy smiled despite being so exhausted. Chloe had done a pretty good job, even if Maddy didn't like it. She looked pretty. But even without all of that, Maddy was still their beautiful daughter. Besides, beautiful people make beautiful children. Chloe was beautiful as well, having such beautiful parents, but Poppy didn't reckon she realized that without makeup.

"Um, that's great sweetie," said Griffin, exhausted as well as he approached her. "Ready to go?"

"Aww, already?"

 _Yes! Take her…._ Maddy thought to herself.

"Yes, princess. I think its time."

"Where's mom?" Chloe asked, looking around for Satin.

"She's...at home. She wasn't feeling well."

"You mean she got drunk and threw up, huh?" Chloe asked, her voice unsurprised.

"Yeah…" Griffin said, knowing he needed to stop sugarcoating things. Chloe was not a little girl anymore and he had the bad habit of forgetting it. She wasn't as innocent as she once was and she also knew Branch was drunk but wasn't going to say this observation aloud. Judging by how he was slightly stubing into the kitchen said if all.

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose we better go! Bye Madison!" She began to skip away until she realized she had forgotten something. "My crown, not yours," she said. "Sneaky!" She playfully narrowed her eyes at an unamused Maddy before placing the tiara on her head and skipping outside.

"Goodnight, guys," Griffin said.

"NIGHT!" Branch called from the kitchen rather loudly.

Poppy rolled her eyes. "Goodnight. Lets not do this again…at least not for a while…"

Griffin chuckled. "Definitely not."

* * *

 **So there's part two! Im quite pleased how fast this update was, and this chapter was suppose to be a bit longer but I decided to make it shorter because this is a good part to stop at. The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off so yeah.**

 **Please tell me what you think! ❤**


	9. Hungover

Maddy found herself going on a tangan as her mother helped her out of the dress, trying to be as gentle as possible but there were times where she'd have to give it a light tug in order for it to become undone. It tied so lightly Maddy was practically stuck in one position.

"And then she asked me to play dressup. Dressup! How old am I? Five years old?! I swear, she is like a little girl."

"Sweetie," Poppy said calmly. "I think maybe Chloe just sees things differently than you do. After all, you and I see things differently." It was no secret that Maddy wasn't much like Poppy, and more like Branch. Zander was more like Poppy than she'd ever be, while Elliot was the mixture of them both and yet he had this personality of his own.

Maddy thought about this as Poppy untangled the ribbons and let her hair down. "Maybe you are right…"

Poppy smiled. "Now, where are your brothers?"

"Zander is asleep-"

"Did you give him his bath?"

"Yes. And Elliot is doing homework."

"This late?"

"It was his excuse to get away from Chloe," Maddy explained.

Speaking of Elliot, familiar footsteps were heard as his tall body came down. He leaned against the stair railing. "Is the coast clear?"

Maddy nodded, and Elliot took the breath that he seemed to have been holding, making his way fully down the stairs. "Finally, I'm _starving_."

"You didn't eat?" Poppy asked worriedly, then turned to Maddy. "Did you eat? Did Zander eat?"

"Yeah, we had left overs," she told her mom.

"Oh, good," Poppy said, frowning as Elliot made his way to the kitchen. She knew Elliot could go a long time without eating and at times didn't even think of his hunger. And when he ate he ate a lot. Sometimes Poppy thought he was too skinny for his age but Branch would assure her he was healthy as could be, and he did have some muscle.

As Elliot made his way to the fridge, he stood himself midway to see his father putting strawberries and bananas into the blender, not even bothering to cut them up. "Dad…?"

"Hmm?"

"What'cha doing?" he asked carefully. It didn't take him long to realize his father was drunk. He had seen him drunk before, and it was crazy how much he changed into a completely different troll.

"I-I'm uh...oh yeah, I'm making a smoothie…"

"You sure? You don't seem too sure about that."

"I am…"

Elliot took a step forward when he saw that his father was getting ready to start it without even putting on the lid. "Dad!"

Too late.

He already pushed the button, causing the fruit to spill everywhere.

Poppy and Maddy gasped in surprise in the the living room, quickly running to the kitchen to find the mess "He did it," hiccuped Branch, pointed to Elliot and shaking his head dramatically.

"What?! No I didn't!"

Poppy rubbed her head that was beginning to pound, knowing very well that her husband was responsible for this mess and too drunk to clean it up.

"Whatever…" The pink troll sighed, picking up the blender and beginning to wash it out in the sink while Elliot got a few paper towels and began to clean the mess, getting rid of the bigger fruit chunks and throwing them into the trash before scrubbing the floor free of the sticky mess.

"You could help me," said Elliot, looking up at Maddy. "Instead of staring at me."

Maddy shrugged while Poppy dried the blender, Branch taking a few steps forward and holding his hand out.

"What?" Poppy hissed.

"Gimme."

"Give you _what_?"

"Blender!" he pointed at it like a three year old at the store that wanted a candy bar.

"Why?!"

"I want it!" he pouted, reaching for it but Poppy tried to keep her grip on it. There was absolutely no reason that he would need a blender after making such a mess that his son had to clean up.

"Stop it!"

"Give it to me!"

"No!"

"POPPY! GIVE ITTTTT!"

Elliot clenched his teeth together, trying to pull them apart while Maddy decided she'd get out and get out quick.

"Ha! I win!" Branch had won this battle, hugging the blender as Elliot went flying in the air and fell right on his back.

Poppy gasped. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine…" Elliot said, rubbing his head.

"No you aren't! Your back is scaped!" Poppy took off his scarf and turned him to his side.

"I'm okay, mom," he said, but let out a small groan of pain when she touched it.

"Don't hide your emotions," Poppy said. "I'm going to kill your father!"

"He didn't mean it, I shouldn't have been standing there. Besides, he's drunk and doesn't know what he was doing. It's not like he intended to hurt me."

Poppy considered this, knowing there was no way Branch would intentionally hurt any of his children. It was his determination for the stupid blender that made him fall.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Poppy asked, finally.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he said, getting onto his feet.

"I'm gonna give you something. Just in case," she said.

Elliot chuckled. Poppy just couldn't let things go. Sure it hurt, but it was just pain. He could take it.

* * *

Once the kids were all in bed, Poppy still had a pounding headache, letting herself think about everything that happened tonight. She thought of how stupid this idea was. She should have listened to Branch when he protested.

She was still mad at him for flirting and knocking Elliot down.

As Poppy slipped on her nightgown and her slippers she let out a sigh, making her way into the bathroom across the hall. When she opened the door she raised her eyebrow, watching Branch smiling and patting the blender that was now on top of the shelf near the towels. He was now dressed in his normal vest and shorts- it surprised her that he was able to do that alone.

"You stay right here lil' blender!"

Poppy put her hand on her forehead once again and rubbed it. "Branch…"

The drunk blue troll sniffed looked over at his wife, who was tapping her foot. "The blender goes in the _kitchen_!"

"It goes _here_ Poppy!" he protested, even indicating it with his hand that he was sure it went there.

"Branch, lets just go to bed, please…"

He let out an overdramatic sigh. "Okay, fine," he said, picking up the blender and crawling into a bathtub. He stared at her, the blender still firmly in his arms. "Aren't you coming?"

Poppy was one to just huff at this point, deciding she was done dealing with drunk people for tonight. He was already out like a light anyway as Poppy wrapped a towel around him (he was lucky to get as much as that), not even giving him a kiss goodnight.

* * *

The next morning Zander was awoken with the sunlight shining on his face. He yawned and rubbed his tired eyes, pulling the sheet off of him. He smiled when he sat up, but suddenly he frowned when he remembered he had to go to school tomorrow.

School was many things.

It was waking up early. It was homework. It was even fun, sometimes.

But school was Hazel.

The girl who still hated him all because of a mistake he made of spilling paint on her overalls. He gulped in fear when he thought of her. He wondered if she would ever move on and forgive him.

Sighing, Zander stood up onto his feet. His ear twitched when he heard loud snoring coming from the bathroom. Curious, he made his way across the hall and opened the door to see his father lying in the bathtub, wrapped in a fuzzy towel and he was hugging the blender that Zander swore was he was told his whole young life that it belonged in the kitchen.

"Daddy?"

No answer.

The purple troll took a few steps closer, poking his nose. "Daddy?" he repeated.

Branch groaned. "Huhhh? What?" he asked, slowly blinking. His head pounded like a drum. It hurt bad.

"Daddy, that isn't your bed," Zander said, cocking his head to the side.

Branch wanted to ask what he meant but once he was awake enough to fully process things his eyes widened. He was in here all night?! What was he doing there?

He quickly wiped the drool from his face and looked up at Zander, who was still curiously staring at him.

As he stood up onto his feet he felt like he might pass out. "Oh, my head…" he said, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible. "I gotta shave…" he noted, feeling tiny hairs growing on his chin.

"Me too," said Zander, cuffing his chin just like his dad.

Branch smiled despite the way he was feeling. "I think you're a bit too young for that, buddy. You can barely even reach the sink yet."

Zander got on his tippy toes, helplessly gripping onto the counter. Branch simply dragged the stool that he always used and set it in front of him.

"I don't need no stool!"

"Whatever, I guess I'll just take it away…"

His son just stared at him like he didn't know who he was as he watched him walk away. From the corner of his eye Branch noticed he was still trying to reach the sink, letting out a few troubled grunts.

"Let me know when you're ready to give up," he chuckled, setting the stool down next to the bathroom door. Zander pursed his lips, knowing very well his father was indeed right. He was right most of the time.

Branch exhaled before entering their bedroom where a sleeping Poppy still remained. He smiled a little, sitting on the bed and rubbing her cheeks with her hand, making her smile. Whatever he did last night that made him sleep in the bathtub seemed to be forgiven, at least when she was asleep. He was sure she wouldn't be as peaceful when she woke up.

But little did Branch know, he put _himself_ in that position. Poppy just did not have all the patience in the world at that moment, plus she was still feeling a little jealous.

Branch decided to just let her sleep and take a shower, hoping somehow she'd forget everything just as he did. All he remembered is going out to drink. He knew he had gotten drunk to a point where everything was a blur. He didn't even remember a little of it.

He let out yet another sigh as he entered the bathroom in their room. Once he reached the shower, he began to run the water- hot like he liked it- and strip of his vest and pants. As he got in, the water felt nice against his skin. It was a distraction to what he thought he may face when he got out, though he still tried to make sense of what happened.

There he was, not even wanting to go to a bar, and not long after he got there he got drunk. He didn't know how much he drank, just to the point where he couldn't remember the morning after. He was still extremely hung over and begin to feel his stomach churning.

He was quick to finish his shower, knowing all too well what was going to come next so he quickly dried himself with his blue towel, slipped on his robe, and everything he held in came out into the toilet.

* * *

Poppy was one to groan when she was woken up when she heard her husband's hacking. "Oh, Branch…" she sighed. She couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic towards the blue troll as she heard him throwing up.

It wasn't long until she got up off her feet, her long legs carrying her into the bathroom. She rubbed his back at the threw up. "Branch?"

He sniffed, looking back at her. "What?"

"That's what you get for drinking too much!"

"Gee, _thanks,_ " he said, rolled his eyes.

"I was kidding...I'm sorry…" she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She really didn't mean it, she just thought she did. And she was no longer mad, it was stupid getting so jealous when she knew Branch loved her. It was just the drink, she knew. And she loved him enough to forgive him; it was now her duty to take care of him.

Poppy flushed the toilet and gave her husband a small smile as he lied his head on her chest and closed his eyes tight. "C'mon," she said, rubbing his head. "Let's get you back to bed."

The couple had spent the last couple hours in bed, enjoying each others time while the kids entertained themselves, Zander wanted to go in but Elliot and Maddy stopped him, knowing that they probably wanted to be left alone after last night. Zander did not understand the concept of a hangover.

"When can I see Mommy and Daddy? I miss them," he said, watching Elliot make breakfast. He was always used to both his parents being awake by now so that they could cook breakfast. Sure Elliot helped a lot of the time but he was used to the kitchen being more full than just him and his siblings.

"Just wait till they wake up," Elliot said, remaining patient and focusing back on the scrambled eggs that were near to being done.

"I feel like I've been grounded forever," Maddy sighed, laying her head against her arms.

"You shouldn't have gotten into that food fight," Elliot said mockingly.

"Shut up, freckle butt!"

"Ha! You said butt!" Zander laughed, earning a smirk from Maddy.

Elliot pouted before rolling his eyes, knowing the only reason that she said this was to tease him because she knew how much he hated all of his freckles. "Real mature, Maddy. Almost as mature as getting in a food fight."

"He deserved it!"

"If you were to pick between Seth or Chloe, who would it be?" Elliot asked after a moment, going reaching into the cabinets and grabbing three plates.

"They're both annoying, so neither," she rolled her eyes. What a dumb question!

"I said choose one." He began the divide the eggs evenly onto the three plates with the large spoon.

"I don't know, why does it matter?!"

Elliot shrugged. "It doesn't. I was just curious."

As Elliot set down the plates, his ear twitched when he heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Maddy said, standing up onto her feet. "It's my only communication to the outside world…"

She nonchalantly slipped on her vest and hat before approaching the door. She hoped it was at least someone she _liked_.

Once she opened the door she sighed when she saw a blushing Halo, his hands behind his back shyly.

"Oh, it's you…" she said through another sigh.

"Good morning Maddy!" he smiled widely, revealing a flower from behind his back. "My mom was checking on her plants this morning and said I should give these ones to you!"

Maddy was about to slam the door but the orange troll was quicker. He held the door up with the hand that wasn't holding the flowers.

"Wait- please Maddy? Please?" he asked, giving her the puppy dog face with his big brown eyes.

Maddy raised her eyebrow as he continued to stare at her with that same desperate look that made her give in. It...always did.

She huffed. "Alright, if you makes you happy."

"Great! Do you have a good vase for them?!"

Suddenly he was in her house.

"Hi Halo!" Zander smiled.

"Hey Zander!" Then Halo smiled as the purple troll ran up and hugged his leg.

"Wanna play airplane? Daddy does with me all the time, but Elliot and Maddy say he's still sleeping."

"Sure, kiddo!" he smiled. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

The orange troll could easily lift Zander over his shoulders; he giggled the whole time as Halo spun him around and made "whoosh" noises while Zander giggled.

"Be...Be careful…" Maddy said, knowing Halo was probably the most clumsy troll in the village. Sure he was a pain but she didn't want her brother hurt.

Luckily Zander made his landing safely, and Maddy couldn't help but smile at how good he was with kids. He somehow had the patience she did not.

Zander still laughed. "Thanks Halo!"

"You're very welcome!" he smiled, high fiving Zander as he walked back into the kitchen to eat his breakfast.

Halo raised an eyebrow when he sensed Maddy's presence. She quickly looked away and refused to meet his gaze.

"Alright Honeybun, your turn!"

"My turn for what?"

"Airplane!"

"What- no! I'm not five anymore."

"Maybe not. But you can always be five in year heart."

When Maddy stared at him with her ear twitching Halo cleared his throat and continued. "We've known each other for a long time, I'll be careful. Unless, you know, you're too scared…" Suddenly his voice became teasing and sly.

"I'm not too scared! You should be _begging_ me!"

Halo chuckled as the pink troll stomped forward and got onto his back. He knew she'd do anything just to prove a point; that she was right. She just _loved_ being right, whether she'd want to admit it or not.

Elliot smiled as he watched Maddy giggle as Halo spun her around.

It wasn't soon after that Branch and Poppy made their way downstairs, Branch still in his rob, carrying the blender down to put it back where it belongs.

When Branch saw this, he nearly dropped the blender. "What is this?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Zander beamed excitedly, running up to his parents and hugging their legs.

"Branch…" Poppy said carefully, looking down and smiling at Zander while Maddy's eyes widened, quickly hopping off of Halo.

"Oh! Good morning Queen Poppy, King Branch," he said, bowing down then coming back up.

Branch's eye twitched. "Enough of that."

Poppy gave him a more friendly greeting. "Goodmorning Halo!"

"Maddy is grounded," Branch said immediately. "So no friends over."

"Halo was just leaving," Maddy said, giving the orange troll a nudge.

"Um, yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Halo began.

"Awww you brought flowers!" Poppy smiled, grabbing them off of the couch where they were forgotten by Halo when he entered the house. "I'm gonna find a vase for them."

When Poppy entered the kitchen all Branch had to do was glare in order for Halo to get the point.

"Oh, I think someone is calling me…" He slowly began to back away from Maddy who was still gripping his arms. "It was nice seeing you all...Coming Mom! Bye Maddy!"

He was there and then he wasn't.

"Who was your friend there?" Branch asked.

Maddy sighed. "He's not really my friend, _per say..._ he's just...someone I know," she explained.

Her father stared at her for a moment before entering the kitchen and putting the blender back, Zander on his heels.

"Poppy…?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you know that kid?"

"Oh," she smiled, sniffing the flowers once they were put in a vase. He followed her to the table where she sat them in the middle of it. "You mean Halo?"

"Yeah."

"I know his mom," said Poppy. "She's the best gardener in the village." She went back into the kitchen and began to scrub the dishes. "And his dad is good at welding."

There were a lot of trolls in the troll tree, and Branch _still_ couldn't tell all of them apart. He was sure he had seen him around.

"They're real nice folks," she continued. "We should talk to them sometime. Maybe we can invite them for dinner."

Branch shrugged, watching Maddy enter the kitchen and continue to eat her eggs. She refused to make eye contact.

 _Now he thinks we're a thing. Thanks a lot Halo,_ she thought.

* * *

 **And soooo Branchie's protectiveness increases! I really wanted to add Halo in this chapter because he's just a super cute and sweet character! He was one of my first precious OCS so he means a lot to me ^.^**

 **Maddy and Halo have that Branch-Poppy relationship if they were different genders in case you didn't notice XD**

 **And btw WHO'S EXCITED FOR THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL CAUSE I'M READY LET'S GOOOO!**

 ***Clears throat* Tell me whatcha think! Love ya!**


	10. Zander's Discovery

"Who is it now?" Branch asked, setting down his hot coffee that he was sipping once there was another knock at the door not too soon after Halo left.

"Don't be grumpy," Poppy laughed, kissing her husband's forehead that was still pounding.

Once Poppy opened the door she was a little surprised to see Chenille there, rubbing her arm.

"Oh," Poppy smiled, opening the door slightly more. "Hi Chenille!"

"Yeah, um, hey Poppy…I was just wondering, have you seen my earrings?" she asked, her tone still nervous.

Suddenly Poppy remembered. She smirked slightly. "If I am not mistaken, you gave them to Cody."

"I-I did?" she immediately stuttered at his name.

"You bet! You're funny when your drink," she giggled. "You become a _lot_ more confident and naughty."

"I do?!" she asked more loudly, now feeling bad about herself as always.

"Of course you can't remember, you were drunk," she continued on, making Chenille's ears slightly droopy.

"Okay, I get it...do you know where Cody lives?"

"Wanna visit your boyfriend?" She continued to smirk.

"Har har…" she sighed. "So funny I forgot to laugh!"

"Alright, I'm done," she said, not wanting to make her friend too mad, plus she knew that once Satin was over her hangover she was sure to tease her even more than Poppy.

But Poppy still had one more thing to say. It was more of an observation than anything. "But I must say, you are blushing so that's gotta count for something."

"Do you know where he lives or not?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips, growing impatient. She still felt hot with embarrassment that Poppy just _had_ to point that out. She tried to play it off like she wasn't, but she still felt her cheeks redden.

"Well sure, I know where everyone lives," Poppy told her optimistically. "I can take you there."

"Take her where?" Zander suddenly asked, hugging Poppy's leg and waving at Chenille.

Chenille softened when she met his gaze. She smiled and waved back at the purple troll.

"We were taking Chenille to…" she hesitated, looking at her friend then back at her son, "a friend's house."

"Chenille, where are your earrings?" the little boy asked, pointing at her ears that were starting to twitch as she stared at him, unsure what she could really say. What actually happened she could not remember.

"Heh, that is a good question," she said, nervously smiled. "That...I...will explain on the way?"

Poppy tried to hold back a laugh. "Is that a question?"

Chenille just glared at her in response, knowing very well that Poppy would be teasing her about this for a while.

* * *

Once Poppy said her goodbyes to her family, she began to explain to Chenille what happened once they got home.

"So he thought the blender went into the bathroom?" laughed the blue troll. "Wait till Satin hears this, she'll never let him live it down!"

"I know right?" Poppy snickered. "You know, I should really stop trying...you know...to make them be friends…"

"I could have told you _that_ ," she scoffed, following Poppy up the branch that she inferred that lead to the red troll's pod. The pink troll was skipping the whole way with Zander's hand in hers. She smiled at the sight, suddenly longing for the days when Seth was that age.

They were so much closer…

"We're here!" Poppy's voice cut through her thoughts before she could let her mind wonder any longer.

Zander watched as Chenille looked hesitant. "Cmon!" said the purple troll, letting go of his mother's hand and approaching Chenille. "Don't be shy, he won't bite!"

"Yeah!" Poppy agreed, giving her a nudge. "You _just_ want your earrings back…" she said in a way that made her think that _wasn't_ what she wanted.

"Are you using reverse psychology on me…?"

"Wha- psh- no! No! No!" Poppy scoffed, shaking her head earning a glare of unamusement from Chenille and a look of confusion from Zander. The pink troll quickly cleared her throat, putting her arm around Chenille and leading her to the door. "Now you just walk in there with confidence! Because confidence is key!"

"Right, okay," she said, straightening her back that was hunched. She took a breath, unsure of what to expect as she knocked on the lime green door of the red pod. The door also had blue music notes on it which Chenille found quite welcoming.

Her heart immediately started to race when she heard the door unlock. It slowly went back to its original pace when she saw a little girl open the door.

"Hello…?" the little girl yawned, rubbing her tired eyes.

Poppy noticed right away that Zander had gasped.

"It's her…" he whispered.

"Who?" Poppy asked.

"The girl I told you about!" he said through his teeth. "We gotta go…" He tugged at her dress.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Hazel asked Zander, not even seeming to take notice of Chenille who had no idea what _they_ had against each other. She had never seen the lime green troll before but judging by the way Zander acted he knew her.

"I'M SORRY OKAY?! FOR SPILLING PAINT ON YOUR OVERALLS!" he yelled before dashing away. "C'mon Mom!"

"I...uh...I'll see you later, Chenille," Poppy said, hurrying after Zander. She looked back every once in awhile with a guilty look.

Great, now she was _alone._

She looked back at the lime green troll who was crossing her arms, rolling her hazel eyes. "The nerve of some people, am I right?"

Chenille stared at the pouting little girl until she cleared her throat and slightly waved her hand in her face. "Um, hi...Hazel? Is it?"

"Yeah," she said. "Or Lil Bean, that's what Daddy calls me." She pointed her finger at her. "But _only_ Daddy, so don't get any ideas!"

Chenille felt herself smiling in amusement at this. "I won't. But listen, I was just-"

"Have you come to be my new Mommy?" she asked with much excitement.

"H-Huh? No. No...I just need to talk to your dad. Cody, right?" she asked, just to make sure Poppy took her to the right place. Though she was just now starting to remember Cody saying he had a child.

"Yeah, that's him! C'mon!" She smiled, taking Chenille by the hand just as Cody did last night when he dragged her to the bar table.

"He's kinda a heavy sleeper," she explained, leading the blue troll up the stairs.

"This is my room," she said, pointing at the purple door that had red handprints of all different kinds of colors. "But you can't go in there. Not yet. It's too messy!" Before Chenille could say anything, she took her hand once again and dragged her to the door on the right of her room.

This door, however, was white and only had three hand prints: one was red, the other lime green, and right below it was another lime green color.

"That's my hand print," Hazel said proudly. "Daddy's is the red one, and the other green one was Mommy's. This is Daddy's room."

As Hazel entered the room Chenille took this moment to study the door. She ran her fingers across the dry paint. Someone else lived here once...she knew it…

"Daddy, there's a pretty lady here to see you."

Hazel's voice made her jump, feeling herself blush when she peaked through the cracked door to see a tired Cody with his white tank top on, the sheet covering to his lower back and down. His was lying on his belly, his red hair even shaggier with bed head while Hazel was lying on his back.

"Five minutes, mom," he groaned in a voice that made her redden even more.

"Wake up!" Hazel shouted, grabbing an extra pillow and hitting him in the face.

"Hazel…!"

"Well, get up," she whined, pulling his muscular arm. "There's a pretty girl here! The most beautiful girl I have ever seen!"

Chenille smiled at that, even though she still doubted anyone thought that of her.

"Hmmm...is her name Destiny?"

"No."

"Then probably not," he chuckled, sitting up in the bed, making Chenille hitch her breath and hide behind the door (if you haven't noticed, she's very shy when it comes to guys).

Hazel slid off his back and opened the door. "You can come in," she told her, tugging on her dress.

Chenille nodded, taking one last glance at the handprints before forcing her legs to move and entering the room.

"Here she is!" Hazel said excitedly, indicating with her arms. She had a good feeling about this one. It surprised Cody that his daughter actually approved of someone he was seeing. But...he wasn't particularly seeing Chenille. He wasn't sure if they were even friends. She didn't hint at anything like the girls in the past had.

Cody cleared his throat. "Hi, Chenille," he said, feeling a bit awkward as he shuffled his feet against the carpet.

"Ooo, it's even a pretty name!" Hazel chirped.

"Thanks," Chenille smiled.

"See, Daddy always dates hookers. And hookers don't act right."

Chenille's eyes went big while Cody furrowed his eyebrows.

"HAZEL! I told you not to say that word!"

"But Dad-"

"Go get dressed," he ordered.

"But…"

"Go on," he said, giving her a nudge. She mumbled words under her breath before entering her room and closing the door.

Cody cleared his throat and looked back at Chenille, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "Kids, right?" he chuckled nervously. "She...She has a bit of a potty mouth."

"I wonder where she gets it?"

"Very funny," he said, running his hands through his red hair, the smell of strawberries entering her nostrils. "You sound like my sister in law."

"She sounds wise."

"Psh, sure. So wise she wants to take Hazel away from me."

Chenille frowned, beginning to feel sympathy for the red troll. "How come?"

"She thinks I'm not...fit to be a parent. Even you said it last night, I don't seem like the type."

She opened her mouth to say something but shut it. He didn't seem like the type that'd have a child, but he did. He wasn't done, anyway.

"I've been trying to prove for almost six years that I'm a good parent," he continued. "If Nina were to raise her, she wouldn't have any fun."

Chenille took a breath out of her nose and sat down next to him. "Hey," she said in a motherly voice that she used to use on Seth. It made Cody look up at her. "I think you're doing great! Don't beat yourself up. It...isnt easy being a single parent."

"You're a wise woman, Chenille I-Don't-Know-You're-Last-Name."

"Trolls don't have last names, you goof," she chuckled, nudging him.

"Well you are wise nonetheless."

"Thanks, I try to be."

Cody smiled at her. She smiled too, looking into his purple eyes and…getting...lost in them…

Before she knew it, he was leaning in. "Whoa whoa whoa! What are you doing?!"

"Uh- I-" Cody started nervously.

"Did you think we were gonna kiss?!"

"No! Well- yeah- I thought we were having a moment!"

"Two people can have a moment without kissing!" she hissed, getting off of the bed and back on her feet again.

"What is your _problem_?!"

"I don't _have_ a problem!"

"Yes, you do! It's like you're afraid to let someone be nice to you!"

She lifted her finger to say something in remark but she realized that could have been the bloody truth. "Well...Poppy is nice to me, and she doesn't try to go and kiss me!"

"That's different!"

"How?! We _just_ met each other last night! And you are already going around trying to make a move?!"

"You act like I'm trying to take advantage of you or something!"

"DON'T joke about that!"

"I wasn't trying to joke-"

"I know you weren't! Just stop! The only reason I came here was to get my _stupid_ earrings back because I was _stupidly_ drunk with _you_!"

"I didn't force you! You did it on your own! And need I remind you that _I_ cleaned up your throw up when I took you home!"

"You were in my house?!" she gasped as if it was the most horrifying thing ever.

"You're welcome by the way," he rolled his eyes, folding his arms.

"Did you meet my kids?!"

"I met your son. He helped me clean it up while you were passed out dead on the couch!"

"No wonder he was grumpy this morning…"

"No doubt about _that_ ," Cody grumped.

"Do you have my earrings or not?" she sighed impatiently.

Cody simply sighed and gave her a nudge to follow him. He lead her downstairs and into the living room where his leather jacket laid flat on the couch next to Hazel who was fiddling with some toys on the floor.

"Hi, Daddy!" said Hazel, now fully dressed in her purple overalls and her red hair in her normal bun. "What was all the yelling about?"

"Nothing, sweetie," Cody answered, kissing her forehead and sitting on the couch. Chenille stood a few feet ahead of him, crossing her arms and staring at him. He digged his hands through one of the pockets until he felt his fingers pinch the earrings.

"Ah, there you are, you little monsters!"

Chenille rolled her eyes, wishing he'd just keep his stupid comments to himself.

"There you are, Cupcake," he smirked teasingly, holding out the earrings.

She snatched them and quickly put them back on. "Thank you. Now...I gotta get home."

"Awww already?" he teased.

"Ugh." She pushed passed him, saying goodbye to Hazel and making her exit.

Cody quickly made his way to window, pulling the curtain and watching her walk away.

When he saw her look back at him he immediately closed the curtain. Hazel copied his actions by opening the curtain then quickly closing it.

"Daddy, she seems mad," Hazel said, watching her father get up and slip on his jacket.

"C'mon," he said, not wanting to talk about it. He suddenly felt saddened that he made such a terrible impression on the blue troll. He wanted to apologize if she'd let him. "Let's get you some breakfast."

Hazel wasn't willing to pass down breakfast, so she quickly followed him into the kitchen.

* * *

The moment Chenille got home she wanted nothing more than to just collapse on the couch, but it didn't take her long to see that the couch was already occupied by Seth.

The dark blue troll was laying down in front of the television with a blanket wrapped around his shirtless body. "That is one lame actress," he mumbled, biting into his cereal. Seth just loved to be lazy on Sunday mornings before he had to face the torture of going back to school.

"I'm home," Chenille said, closing the door behind her.

"I can see that," he said, holding the remote and not even looking at her.

"I got my earrings back."

"Yeah."

"Where's Gem?"

"In her room," he explained with an annoyed sigh.

"I don't need attitude," she said sternly, walking into kitchen for some aspiran. She still felt terrible from last night.

When there was a knock at the door, she let out a sigh. "Seth, will you get that please?"

"Ughhh why can't you?" he groaned, sitting up a little.

"Fine." She irritably set the pills back on the counter. "Life is just _so_ hard isnt it?"

Seth rolled his eyes, feeling a little guilty as he watched her approach the door.

Chenille smiled when she saw Coral. Even though she did not know the yellow troll well, she did know that she was Chloe's best friend. She would see her around when she'd visit Satin, and the girls had known each other for a long time. But what she did not know she soon would.

"Hi, Chenille," Coral said a bit bashfully. "Is Seth here?"

Her face dropped, unsure why she wanted to see Seth. "Yes...he's right in here."

Before Coral could blush over seeing Seth shirtless, he quickly slipped his coat on and ran to the door, zooming past his mother.

"Hi Coral! What'cha doin?" he grinned nervously, praying that she wouldn't give away anything. For one thing, Chenille didn't know yet that they were a couple. The second (and possibly worst) was that she didn't know he snuck out on Friday.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out," she said, smiling at him.

"U-Um...maybe later."

She frowned. "I just thought...I haven't seen you since our date on Friday."

Seth gulped while Chenille stared at them.

She spilt it.

He was in trouble.

Once again.

* * *

It was Monday once again, and as Zander sat down on one of the swing sets during morning recess, he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around he was surprised to see Hazel.

"Hi," she said.

"H-Hey."

"So, um," she shuffled her feet. "I think I uh...owe you an apology…"

"What changed your mind?"

"My dad was talkin' to me about it yesterday…he said I should give you another chance. What do you say?"

Zander didn't take long to think it over. He just smiled and nodded, and before she knew it he was on his feet hugging her.

Her eyes widened until she hugged back, smiling and burying her face in his shoulder.

Once he pulled away, he soon realized she was wearing different overalls over her normal red shirt. Instead, they were tan and had flowers on them.

"Oh, you got new overalls! They are nice, they match your eyes." He smiled at her.

"Thanks…" she said, her voice barely audible now. She watched him walk away, blood rushing to her cheeks immediately. _He likes me_ …?

* * *

 **Bam! Done! Thus Cody and Chenille have more interaction that ends with a fight. I love these children, so adorable when they fight XD And Zander and Hazel are friends now! Andddd she's in love with him! XD**

 **Please tell me what you think?**


	11. The Worrier's

**Wow! Another chapter in the sane week?! Im getting better at updating this thing!**

* * *

Mr. Malcolm smiled as he sat up from his chair. "Before we begin, does anyone have any weekend stories?" He looked around the classroom, eager for someone to raise their hand.

"I had a crap weekend," Maddy muttered, her head resting on her arms that rested on the desk.

"Wonderful! Let's hear about it!"

Maddy furrowed her eyebrows, not thinking he actually heard that. "No."

Sparkie looked back at her grumpy friend and smiled at her. "C'mon, Maddy, perk up. He was just teasing you."

"What about you, Sparkie? Anything?" Malcolm asked, turning to the glittery troll.

"Not really," she said. "It was a bit lonely without Maddy."

"Since she was grounded!" Chloe just _had_ to remind her.

"And I will be for another week. Yet, my parents made me spend my Saturday night with _you_!" she hissed, turning her back to Chloe.

"Be calm, be calm," Malcolm said while Chloe just frowned.

"I'm grounded even _longer_ ," Seth grumped, making Maddy smile sarcastically.

"Aw, you poor, poor thing!"

Seth's ears were droopy. "Be quiet, Maddy. I didn't get much sleep last night." He rested his head on the desk and looked at empty Coral's seat. _She must be sick_ , he thought. He felt bad about how they left things. Chenille got mad, as always, and Coral didn't understand why he didn't just tell her. Coral also didn't think it was right that he snuck out when he was grounded. He just made one mistake after another.

He slightly gasped when he felt Sparkie's hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" Her bi-colored eyes were concerned. She was always one to worry.

"Like I said, I didn't get much sleep is all, Sparkles," he yawned.

"O-Okay," she said, turning back around to see Maddy staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing."

Malcolm slightly tilted his head at the teenagers. He just wanted everyone to be okay; everyone to get along. Deciding to leave this matter until the end of class, he cleared his throat and pulled his spectacles to the top of his nose. "Is that all for weekend stories?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"What about your weekend, sir?" Halo asked optimistically, his hand accidentally landing on Maddy's. "S-Sorry," he whispered.

Maddy just glared and brushed him off, trying to keep the blush off her face.

"My weekend?" he asked. "Hmm...well, not much. Spent time with my daughters, ate some good food, watched some good TV...it was a relaxing weekend," he said, smiling at him.

It reminded Seth of his lazy Sundays.

"Anyone else?" he asked just as someone came in. Well, many people could barely see him. They just saw a door open, close, and heard footsteps walk across the classroom pod.

It was none other than Smidge's son, Gus. He had yellow skin- the same exact shade- green hair, a teal nose and red eyes. He also wore thick, round glasses that matched his hair. As for his outfit, he wore red suspenders and red shorts.

"Hello, Mr. Malcolm," said the yellow troll. "I'm not sure if my mother told you, but I will be in your class this year."

"Oh, yes, she did," said the indigo-colored troll, observing the pass he gave him.

Seth sighed. He did not like Gus. He was nothing but a little nerd who liked to shove his knowledge down everyone's throat. He had a weird voice, too. He was only twelve years old, and he had more intelligence than _him_. He was told many times by his mother that he just didn't "apply" himself as much as he could have. But he had come to the conclusion that he was never going to be as smart as Gus or even Sparkie. He just didn't think he had what it took. _I_ know _I don't have what it takes_.

He knew that Gus was probably going to even _graduate_ before him. The thing he didn't get was why they put him into _regular_ geometry.

"You can take a seat next to Seth over there," he said.

Gus nodded, approaching the seat that was on the opposite side of where Coral usually was. He struggled to get up her seat, earning a laugh from Seth.

"Don't laugh at me, Seth," he said, furrowing his eyebrows and hopping onto the desk and plopping down his book that was about half his size.

"Now, can anyone tell me what a supplementary angle is?" Mr. Malcolm asked, writing the word "supplementary" on the board and looking back at the students, Gus being the only one to raise his hand.

"Yes?"

"An angle that adds up to 180°," said Gus matter-of-factly.

" _An angle that adds up to 180°,_ " Seth repeated in a quiet yet mocking voice.

"Your mocking exasperates me," he said, glaring at him as Mr. Malcolm wrote down 180° next to supplementary.

"I don't know what that _means_."

"Of _course_ you don't."

"Nerd."

"You know what a nerd is?"

Seth did not answer.

"A smart, educated person."

Seth rolled his green eyes. It was going to be a long period.

* * *

"Seth, can you stay a moment?" Mr. Malcolm asked, fiddling with his papers.

When the dark blue troll turned his head, the last thing he saw was Sparkie looking at him with that same look of concern before Maddy gripped her wrist.

"Sit down," Malcolm said.

"Why?"

"I just wanna talk."

"About what?" he asked, sitting on the chair closest to the front of his desk.

"Anything. Anything you want."

"I don't want therapy," he said, standing up. "If it's because of teasing Gus-"

"It's not that."

Seth was sure it was. It had been the lecture for as long as they knew each other. Same with Maddy. "Then what is it?" he sighed.

"Have you always had trouble sleeping?"

 _Yes._

"No."

"You sure?"

 _No._

"Yes."

Mr. Malcolm knew that Seth was lying right to his face, but he wasn't going to bother him about it. In the little time he knew Seth, he always looked tired; that there was more on his mind than he was leading on. It was something someone like him could identify more than the rest. It was one of Malcolm's talents. He just...knew.

"Is there anything you wanna talk about? You know- just to get off your mind?"

He huffed. "No, I don't think so. Everything is fine." Seth always held things in. He felt talking about his problems did no good. And like Sparkie, he was a worrier. But the worry only existed in his inner self that he somehow could never let show. He worried about his mom, and whether or not she was okay. He worried about Gem, who had not said a word in so long he almost forgotten what her voice sounded like.

It was tough for a sixteen year old boy. But he couldn't let it show. He couldn't let anyone see his pain. Someone once told him it was weakness.

"Well, it was nice having this chat. But I have to go to lunch," Seth said.

Mr. Malcolm let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright. If you ever need to talk, my door is always open," he said sincerely.

Seth left without saying anything else. Just a nod to prove that he understood, but Malcolm wasn't sure if he did. Teachers these days didn't care as much about their students as they should. He just wanted to be a teacher that cared about his students' problems. Of course he had problems of his own, but he kept them to himself.

He wanted to help them solve their problems, not talk about his.

* * *

Griffin tried not to blush when he felt Satin's arms wrap around him from behind. It completely threw off his focus, nearly making him mess up Marvin's tattoo.

"S-S-S….Satin-"

"That's my name! Don't wear it out," winked the pink troll.

Griffin gulped. He knew it was a bit silly to still feel nervous in front of someone he was married and had a kid with. But it always happened, especially at times like this when they were in public.

"P-Please l-let me work."

"But I love you."

"I-I love you too, but…I'm working…"

"Ugh, she is so clingy!" Chenille rolled her eyes while Poppy smiled.

"Who's clingy?" DJ Suki asked as she played with Guy Diamonds hands. He had his arms wrapped around her. Poppy at on their left while Chenille sat on their right.

" _Them_." The blue troll pointed to her sister and Griffin.

"I think they're cute," Guy Diamond smiled. "But you know who else is cute…?" he asked, smirking at his wife.

"I wonder who?" Suki smirked.

"You know that answer."

"Me?" she asked innocently, pointing to herself and giggling.

"Yes, you…" He leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"See, that's exactly what you and Cody should have done!" Poppy said rather loudly.

"No, it's _not_." She crossed her arms stubbornly, looking away from everyone and facing Gem who was on one of the tables doing some algebra problems Chenille had set up for her. She looked focused with Suki's borrowed headphones. The music was loud enough for even her to hear."

"C'mon, Chenille, stop being so proud," Suki sighed. "I don't know how you do it all."

No longer wanting to discuss the matter that she never should have brought up to her friends, she got up off the couch and approached her daughter and sat on the chair across from her.

Chenille smiled as Gem took off the headphones and waved at her.

"It's a lot more fun hanging out with you," she said, crossing her arms and still smiling. "You're not gonna get a boyfriend and get all clingy and leave me too, are you?"

The green troll shook her head.

"Not yet you won't," Chenille said. "But you'll find someone. You'll find someone..." She glanced at her friends. They were all happy. She looked back at Gem who slid the college-ruled paper across the table for her to check it.

"Alrighty, let's see," she said, pulling her square glasses out of her hair and checking over the answers. Yes, she needed glasses. She didn't wear them as much as she should have, though.

"Aww, she's such a little nerd," Satin smiled. "Look at her with her glasses checking her daughter's homework."

Griffin wasn't sure if that was a joke or not, so he decided not to respond.

"Are you single, Marvin?" Satin asked the orange troll who raised an eyebrow.

"I'm eighteen…"

"Age doesn't matter," she insisted nonchalantly.

"Don't," Griffin sighed.

Chenille looked up at this and looked back down again trying to ignore them.

"I don't date older chicks," he said.

"Did you just call her old?!" Satin asked, clenching her fists together, ready to throw a punch until the familiar jingle of the bell made her look over to find Branch enter Griffin's shop followed by Zander.

Poppy smiled, getting onto her feet. "Branch! I missed you!" He let out a grunt of surprise when she jumped right into his arms.

"It's only been a few minutes," chuckled the blue troll. "I said I'd be back…"

"I know, but I always miss you," she said, burying his hand into chest before looking at an anxious Zander. "She's after me," he said, his voice trembling as he looked out the window of the shop to find Hazel looking around.

"Who?" Branch asked, looming over his son.

"Sh!" he put his hand on his lip and watched contentedly.

"Where did you go?" she asked, sounding crestfallen. He felt a clench in his heart when the lime green troll sighed in defeat, putting her hands in the pockets of her overalls and walking up the branch that lead to her pod where her father had called for her.

Zander let out the breath he had been holding and then closed the curtain.

"What's wrong little dude?" Suki asked, sitting up on the couch.

"She's trying to get me!"

"Who?" Guy Diamond asked.

"Hazel!"

Chenille looked up once again at the name of Cody's daughter but quickly went back to grading, not wishing to be part of this conversation. "You're doing good," she told Gem. "Just try to fix this one," she said. "You gotta make sure to isolate x."

The green troll nodded, taking the paper back while the others were still confused about Zander's situation.

"What did you do now?" Poppy asked, wondering why they couldn't just get along.

"Who's Hazel?" Suki asked.

"Oh, I'll tell you who Hazel is! First she hated me, and now she won't leave me alone!"

Poppy opened her mouth to say something but closed it when he continued.

"All I told her was that her new overalls looked nice, and now she thinks I have a crush on her or something," he said. "She's been followin' me around all day, asking me if I wanna be her boyfriend! It's so _weird_." He sat down on the couch and lay down next to Guy and Suki. "Man, why must I be so attractive?" he ran a hand through his pink hair, not even trying to be funny but won a laugh from the group.

He sat up. "What? This is serious!"

"Awwww has my handsome little man been getting attention from girls?" Poppy smiled, squeezing his cheeks making everyone laugh. Even Griffin and Chenille, who it usually took them a little more to laugh being the more serious ones.

"Mooomm!" he whined, pulling her hands away.

"Cody and Destiny's daughter and Branch and Poppy's son. Never saw that coming," Griffin mused quietly, close to finishing the tattoo. He got back into his focusing mood now that his wife was approaching her sister and niece.

"Sooo how's the math going?" she asked, hugging her sister from behind.

"It's fine," she answered, writing down a few more equations. "We're done soon for today. She's been working hard."

"She's a smart girl. You've done good."

"You always say that," Chenille sighed, finishing the last equation while Gem handed her the paper. She took this time to look it over. "Good! You fixed it," she said, setting down the paper of equations and handing her the new ones. "These are the last ones for today."

Gem took the paper and put Suki's headphones back on, seemingly eager to start the problems.

"I only say it because you need to be reminded of it," Satin said, nudging her a little.

"I know I'm doing fine with Gem, but Seth…he's just…"

"A trouble maker?" she helped.

"Yes…" she let out something that was close but not quite a chuckle.

As if it was his que, the darker blue troll entered the shop followed by Chloe, Maddy and Sparkie. Seth sighed as Chloe babbled on about cheer tryouts that coming Friday. Sparkie would give her a nod every once in awhile to prove she was listening (aka just trying to be nice, of course). Maddy shared a similar look as Seth, walking close to Sparkie and tugging her turtleneck.

"Don't pretend like you care," the pink troll muttered.

"Speak of the devils," Satin said, leaning her arms against the table and smiling at them.

Poppy smiled at Maddy. "Hi honey, how was school?"

"It was fine," she answered her normal answer, sitting down on one of the chairs while Sparkie approached her parents.

"Where's your brother?" Poppy asked, a little disappointed she didn't get to see all of her kids.

"He went to Lexi's," she answered.

"He's been spending an awful lot of time there," Branch said, crossing his arms. Through his suspicious face worry was held deep inside him for his son.

"I'm sure it's fine," Maddy assured them, but still felt uncertain herself.

"I still wanna meet her," Poppy said.

Meanwhile Seth leaned against Gem's shoulder. "Algebra, eh?"

The green troll turned around and nodded at him.

"Gross," he muttered. "Who needs math? Disgusting. The most revolting-"

"Seth, enough," Chenille sighed but secretly felt amused. "How was school?"

"Again: disgusting, revolting…"

As Seth ranted, Chloe babbled even more. "So you wanna see?!" she asked Satin.

"Show me what ya got," her mother winked.

"Alright Marvin, you're all set to go," Griffin said, giving him a small smile while Chloe took a few breaths, preparing for what she had been practicing and would continue practicing until Friday came.

Chloe was sure this was going to be the best she had done so far (she did tell herself she'd get better each time, after all). But she had forgotten one thing: she didn't give herself enough space.

Before she knew it, once she extended her arm, her fist hit Marven right in the cheek, the force so strong it brought him to the floor.

"Oh my gosh! I-I'm so sorry!" she apologized frantically, feeling completely red when she found everyone staring at her. "Are….Are you okay?"

"Welp, what comes around goes around, I suppose," Satin said, looking close to laughing. He _did_ call her sister _old_ , which she was _not_ going to stand for.

Griffin stared at her. "Really? That's _all_ you have to say?!"

"Okay, okay don't get mad…"

Griffin just shook his head and got onto his knees to look at Marvin who was luckily still conscious.

"I...I'm okay," he said, sitting up and holding his jaw.

"I'm really sor- ooo, you're kinda cute…" If she and Elliot weren't gonna work out...

"Focus," Griffin said, furrowing his eyebrows with disapproval.

"I'll get some ice," Poppy said.

"See? Not even you are perfect," Maddy told her, crossing her arms.

For once, Chloe thought, maybe Maddy did have a point.

* * *

 **Someone doesn't know their own strength now foes she? ;) I don't really feel like writing an authors note rn so tell me what you think! This chapter was a lot of fun!**


	12. Yes, And

**Hey! Me again. The first part of this chapter was inspired by an improv game we play in drama. If you aren't taking drama I'd do recommend it, it's a lot of fun. If you are familiar with the game feel free to tell me!**

 **Without further ado, chapter 12!**

* * *

Friday was here. Chloe was excited, Coral excited for her friend, and Maddy and Seth were glad it was all over. Gus was disappointed considering he loved school, Sparkie the same way, and Elliot was nervous.

He spent the whole week deciding on this, and he had made his choice final that he was going to invite Lexi over. His parents needed to meet her _and_ Juno. Would they approve? He couldn't help but get the terrible feeling in his gut when he thought about his parents making him break up with her. It was one thing to disapprove but another to go as far as making them break up. He could deal with it, right?

"You okay?" Coral's voice brought him back into reality. He almost forgotten that he was in drama class with both Coral and Seth. His assigned seat was on the chair right up front (they did not have tables, only chairs.) Seth sat way in the back with Halo while Maddy sat near the middle, luckily away from Chloe who sat near the back as well.

He gave the yellow troll a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just...zoning out."

Coral nodded in understanding before their teacher, Mrs. Tabitha, approached the stage with much excitement. She was a light pink troll with red hair, red eyes and a blue nose. She had been one of Elliot's favorite teachers since freshman year other than Mr. Rufus; it was hard to choose between the two.

Mrs. Tabitha always had a smile on her face, ready to crack a joke. Her ultimate goal in all of her years was to get everyone out of their shells.

"Alright kids, let's do some improv! Who wants to play?"

"Coral does!" Chloe shouted, making the yellow troll gasp and immediately shake her head.

"It seems you have been chosen," Tabitha said. "Cmon, Coral. Up here, that's it."

Coral felt herself begin to shake as she reached for her glasses case (yet another who wore square glasses yet felt ashamed.) She approached the stage that she never particularly liked to be on with her head down; her glasses falling down the bridge of her nose. This was her very first year in drama, and she knew right away that this maybe might have been a mistake. She wished that she had taken band again, something that suited her more than this. She still took band as an after school club (there were many clubs) since she couldn't fit in her schedule. Her electives were this and choir. She didn't know if choir suited her, either. During band concerts, she could easily focus on the music and not make eye-contact with anyone. She could hide behind her clarinete unnoticed. But choir concerts, the music was expected to be memorized, and she had to face full front to the audience.

She slowly opened her eyes to find everyone looking at her. They were so clear now, almost making it even more intimidating. She could almost hear her brother scolding her that she needed to wear her glasses even when she didn't need to, but she never listened to him. He'd often exaggerated telling her she was going to be blind by twenty.

Coral was nearsighted, so Chloe, that was once a pink blob, she could see clearly now. The pink troll gave her a wide smile and a thumbs up mouthing ' _I believe in you_ '.

She nervously played with her hair, squeezing her pigtail buns between her fingers.

"Alright, I need one more person on stage, please!"

Out of all the hands to go up, Elliot's had been the first. He couldn't bear to see her so frightened. If anyone could convince her that the stage was nothing to be scared of, it was him.

"Let's have Elliot," smiled the pink troll. "Okay, some may be familiar with the game New Choice?" asked Tabitha, fidgeting through the drawers in her desk, smiling when she finally found what she was looking for.

"Ooo, I love this one!" Halo said excitedly.

"What's that?" Coral asked.

"Its simple, we are going to establish a scenario for you two to be in, and every time you hear this…" _Squeak!_ she pinched her fingers down on a loud squeaker, making Maddy rub her sensitive ears. "You need to come up with something different."

"Huh…?"

"It'd make more sense when you play! Okay, so where are these two at?"

"The mall!" shouted a green troll.

"Bergen Town!" shouted a purple troll.

"A cave!" Maddy shouted.

"They are...in a cave! What is their relationship with one another?"

"Best friends!"

"Siblings!"

"Lovers!" shouted Halo.

"Of course you'd say that," Maddy said, rolling her eyes in amusement at the hopeless romantic.

"Oooo lovers, I like that," Mrs. Tabitha smiled.

Seth crossed his arms. He knew it was only acting but he couldn't help but feel jealous. As of right now they were alright, and he learned not to keep secrets. Chloe shared a similar expression but awkwardly smiled. It _was_ only acting.

"So they are lovers in a cave on a date!"

"Wait, I have a question-" Coral began.

"Action!"

Coral rubbed her arms. "Uh, gee, it's awfully cold in here…"

 _Squeak!_

"Oh, um, it's warm in here."

 _Squeak!_

"It's room temperature?"

A few trolls chuckled, including Mrs. Tabitha and Elliot.

"Yeah."

 _Squeak!_

"You know, let's just walk around a bit," said Elliot, putting an arm around her. "Look at this beautiful salamite!"

 _Squeak!_

He gasped. "Look at those bats!" he pointed at the pretend bats in the "cave".

"What bats?"

"Pause," said Tabitha, sitting up in her seat. "Coral, what is the first rule of improv? We talked about it on Monday."

"Oh! Yes, and!"

"Explain."

"It means you have to agree with what the other person does and sees. It helps the flow of the scene," she said, shuffling her feet together slightly embarrassed she was called out like that.

"Excellent, continue," she smiled, giving her a thumbs up.

"What do we do?" she asked.

"Just try not to wake them up," he said.

 _Squeak!_

"Wake them up!" he exclaimed loudly, making Coral and a few of the others laugh.

"How are we gonna do that?"

"Here, use this flashlight!"

 _Squeak!_

"Uhh...Use my scarf!

 _Squeak!_

"Use my body!"

Coral laughed again. "Sure…" she slightly pushed his blue body and he went flying upwards.

"They've woken up!"

"They're after us!"

 _Squeak!_

"They're going to opposite way!"

 _Squeak!_

"The cave is gonna blow up! Run!" Coral quickly made her exit followed by Elliot.

"Alright guys, give them a hand," Tabitha chuckled.

"I did it," Coral said, smiling and catching her breath. "That was terrifying!"

Elliot chuckled. "You get used to it," said the blue prince. "You did a great job."

He gave her the warmest smile, putting her hand on her shoulder. "T-Thanks, Elliot…"

She couldn't keep the blood from rubbing to her cheeks.

By the end of class Elliot fixed the straps of his backpack, thinking it'd somehow distract him.

He found himself smiling as he watched Coral walk away, but he brushed the feeling off when Seth put his arm around her. Chloe not too far behind, still seemingly unhappy that her friend was dating her cousin.

Maddy and Halo were the ones that waited for him. "Good job today, Elliot!" said Halo, happy and energetic as usual.

"Thanks," he smiled.

"Bye, Mrs. Tabitha," Maddy said as the trio made their exit.

"Bye, guys! Have a good weekend!" the pink teacher said, fiddling with the squeaker.

"Ugh, I don't wanna go to PE," Maddy sighed as Halo held the door open for her, expecting her to at least thank him, but the grumpy troll just continued to rant. "It's just pointless! And I swear Miss Patty is out to get me!"

"You think _everyone_ is out to get you," Elliot chuckled at his sister.

"I'm not out to get you," Halo said kindly.

In a sense, Elliot thought, he was. But it was not in the bad way. All the orange troll wanted from her was to be her boyfriend. Elliot wondered why he hadn't given up on her by now, but part of him knew one day Maddy was going to open her eyes and see what was right in front of her. She'd stop being so proud and let her heart decide.

It was uncertain when it'd be, but it'd happen.

It was only a matter of time.

* * *

When Maddy had met up with Sparkie, it was Elliot's que to go to lunch. He said his goodbyes to his sibling and headed to the lunchroom pod. He didn't particularly feel hungry but he still approached the food area.

"What's on the menu today?" he asked himself, looking at the blue menu that gave him three choices: pizza (they served it nearly every day), a hamburger, or a salad.

He decided to go with salad.

He punched in his pin number, took the salad before thanking the lunch lady, and then making his way to the table. As always, a few trolls would greet him and that was it, while others would start a conversation with him. Though Elliot was completely open to conversation, he wanted nothing more than to be left alone for awhile and read his book to get his mind off things.

Of course, he still smiled even on his worst days.

He let himself be surrounded by juniors and his fellow seniors, but it didn't do a thing for him. The thing was, other people couldn't make Elliot happy. Only _he_ could make _himself_ happy. Nobody else.

Throughout the whole lunch period he forced himself to laugh when he didn't feel like it, socialize with people he barely knew without reason, and smile as if he didn't have to carry the weight of the whole world on his shoulders.

* * *

Once Mr. Rufus wished his students a good weekend, Elliot wanted to get to Lexi's as soon as possible. He felt the palms of his hands begin to sweat as he made his way out. His hand was close to the door when he heard someone clear their throat.

"What?" he asked Maddy.

"You _could_ wait for us," grumped the pink troll while Sparkie lightly rubbed her friend's arm.

"He doesn't have to wait for us. You and I could just walk home."

"Well, I can walk you home since I can't come over," Maddy sighed.

"I can walk you home today," the glittery troll smiled, making Maddy smile, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"Why thank you, Sparkie. You are a gentlemen in a turtleneck."

She chuckled. "I guess you could say that."

Elliot smiled at the best friends before he pushed the door open, the last thing he heard was Halo wanting to join along and Maddy's audible groan.

He chuckled to himself, watching the hundreds of trolls pass him by. He suddenly felt serious. One day, this was all going to be his. Every troll in the village was going to be his responsibility. It never hit him more than in this moment.

He inhaled.

 _In_.

He exhaled.

 _Out._

 _In_

 _Out._

 _In_

 _Out._

He kept walking.

 _Yes, and._

He felt something was going to come out of this, something he couldn't handle. Something bad.

 _Yes, and?_

The closer he got to Lexi's pod, the faster his tiny heart pumped blood.

 _I can't do this._

He argued with himself.

 _Yes, you can._

He trudged forward until he finally made it. It felt like a long time that he was just standing there, staring at the red door until he let himself knock on it.

It wasn't long until light footsteps were heard from the other side and the familiar red troll revealed herself, happy to see him as usual.

"Hi!" she grinned, hugging him tightly. "I was just on my way to get Juno. She has dance practice today."

Elliot had never been to dance class with Lexi and Juno, but the little girl was always talking about it, showing him her moves that were rather impressive for a six year old.

"Okay, sounds good," he smiled, feeling himself relax a lot more. Why was he even worried about it?

The couple made casual conversion on the way to pick up Juno, enjoying each others warm, caring company as the warm breeze swept through both of their hair's. Elliot talked about his studies in school while Lexi would recall her days back in high school where she wished she could go back and do all over.

"But, if I were to do things over…" the red troll suddenly frowned, looking down at the ground and slowing her pace. "I wouldn't have Juno."

Elliot stopped completely, lifting her head up with his finger and smiling warmly. "Well then, aren't you glad time machines don't exist yet?"

Lexi chuckled at him, looking at him lovingly before a familiar voice made them jump.

"Mommy!" Juno smiled, running up and hugging her tightly before she noticed Elliot.

"Hi, Elliot!" the salmon-colored troll hugged him tight. "Are you coming to see me dance?!"

"Yes I am, kiddo," he smiled.

"Yay!"

"So how was kindergarten?" Lexi asked, holding onto her daughter's hand as she lead the way to her dance class.

"It was great!" she chirped, babbling about her day.

Elliot followed more slowly, following the girls and smiling at the young trolls' energy.

Little did he know that someone had been witnessing the whole thing with her ears strained and mouth opened wide.

* * *

 **Dun dun dun! Another cliffhanger! Who do you think saw them?!**

 **So, in the beginning of the chapter there is more info about Coral. Yes, she wears glasses as well. The reason I didn't point it about before was because she is super insecure about them. Plus when I was first creating her she didn't wear glasses but it was later added to her design. I think they suit her well! Her design is one of my favs.**

 **Anyway, hope you like it! Prepare for some drama in the chapters yet to come!**

 **Tell me what you think :)**


	13. No Take-Backs

**Hey there. I apologize for the lack of updating, its national writing month and I haven't felt inspired at all. But I hope you're still reading! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Zander jumped when he felt familiar lime green hands grip his purple shoulders tightly. He clenched his teeth together, quite scared of what she was going to do next.

"C'mon, let's go to my house!" she said excitedly, taking him by the hand and dragging him out from under the mushroom where the children gathered to meet their parents.

"A-Aren't you suppose to wait for-"

"My pod is just up this branch," she said nonchalantly.

"I-I dunno," he stuttered. "Maybe I should ask. My dad is gonna-"

"He'll be fine with it, my dad always is!"

Zander gulped as he was dragged all the way up the branch that lead to her pod. He didn't even move his feet anymore. For a small troll she was sure strong. He wondered if her strength was enough to drag Maddy out of bed in the morning.

* * *

"Zander?" Branch looked around for his youngest that was suppose to meet him under the mushroom where the rest of the children were. "Zander?" he repeated, feeling his heartbeat increase by the second.

He looked around the village.

He looked in every place possible.

He did not see him.

"Zander?!"

He took quick breaths, feeling everything around him go blurry. He almost wanted to ground to open up and swallow him whole.

His heart pounded like never before and he felt the bile raise in his throat. He felt very heavy.

"King Branch, are you alright?" asked a peach colored female troll. He could barely hear her. Where would he have gone? He wanted to search endlessly for him but he could not force his stubby legs to move.

He was gone. His _son._ Someone he promised he'd always take care of. He made a promise to all of his children that he'd look out for him.

"What's wrong, King Branch?" asked a green male troll.

He could barely hear him either.

He had broken his promise. A voice told him that he could have gotten far while the other screamed he was gone forever.

There was always that voice in his head that told him he just needed to step back. But he couldn't know. He needed to find him.

"He...He...He's…" he couldn't find the words. "I...I can't…"

"Branch, it's okay. Deep breaths. That's it,there there," a familiar voice said, rubbing his back slightly awkwardly.

"What...who…?" he finally managed to speak when he was face to face with Satin. Behind her the rest of the snack pack stared at him with worried expressions. "What are you…"

"Well, you looked upset," she said, shrugging it off and backing away from him.

"What happened?" Biggie asked.

"I can't find Zander. You have to help me look! Please…"

"Branch, you don't have to ask us twice," Suki said.

Branch wasted no time knocking on every pod. The snack pack had split up in a small groups. Suki searched with Guy, Biggie with Smidge, Cooper with Satin and Branch with Chenille.

"I'm not sure if this is working," Chenille said, playing with her hands.

"It will too work!" he said, turning his head for only a moment before scouting ahead of her.

"Where could he have gone?" Seth asked, catching up with his mom. "He couldn't have gotten far."

"I'd hope not," he replied in an even harsher tone, not even looking back this time.

Seth just rolled his eyes while Chenille gave him a nudge, shaking her head at him. She knew he meant nothing of it and deep down he was terrified. She knew how protective he felt over his children.

She glanced at Gem then at Seth. She couldn't imagine.

"What are you lookin at me for?" Seth asked.

"What? I can't look at-"

"Sh!" Branch interrupted them, straining his sensitive ears. "Do you guys hear that?"

Gem strained her ear as well but shrugged. All she could hear was the footsteps of the group and their slightly muffled words. The green troll shrugged while Branch sprinted up the branch that lead to a familiar red pod. Chenille halted and wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not going back there," she said, stubbornly crossing her arms. She hadn't spoken to Cody ever since he tried to kiss her almost a week ago, and she wasn't going to start now.

"Why?" Seth asked.

Chenille didn't respond, but as she watched Branch approach the pod, she heard it. It only lasted a moment before the blue troll banged on the door. The music stopped.

She wished it hadn't.

It was a piano playing a melody she had never heard before.

And it was beautiful.

* * *

Poppy hummed slightly as she chopped up some carrots and threw them into the crock pot. "Hi Bumblebee," she smiled when she saw Maddy open the door, slip off her backpack, and head for the stairs.

"Oh, yeah, hey."

"Everything okay?" she asked her daughter, closing the lid of the crock pot once again.

"Y-Yeah. Hey, where's Dad?"

"He went to pick up Zander," she answered, taking off her apron and hanging it on the hook on the door of the pantry.

"Oh, okay. I'm not feeling so good, I'm gonna lay down."

"What happened? Did you eat something bad?"

"School lunch food, probably." She slowly made her way up.

"I'll be up soon to check on you…"

The door slammed shut.

"Later," she finished softly. She took her apron off and let the remainder of the stew cook, sitting down on the couch. Something must've had to be very wrong in order for Maddy to pretend to be sick. Like Poppy, she was very bad at lying. Poppy couldn't ever keep a secret either. If Branch so much as talked to her, she'd tell her friends right away. If she did something wrong and someone else got the blame for it, she'd fess up despite being afraid. She could never keep her emotions and secrets in. Really, Poppy had no secrets.

Maddy was the same way when it came to these type of things. She'd come around eventually.

* * *

The moment Elliot reached the top of the steps, he immediately felt a pull on his scarf. Before he knew it, he was in Maddy's room. The pink troll closed the door and locked it before pacing around the room.

"We need to talk," she said, pacing one last time before sitting down on the bed.

"What's going on?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"You tell me," she hissed.

His palms began to sweat. "T-Tell you what?"

"I saw you!"

"Saw me where?"

"With Lexi! I saw you with Lexi. And…" she looked around, not wanting to hear. "And her daughter?"

"How do you know she has a daughter?!"

"She called her mom a bunch of times, so yeah!"

"Why were you watching us?" Elliot asked. He could believe what he was hearing.

"That part doesn't matter," she said. "When were you planning on telling any of us that your girlfriend is a teen mom?!"

"She isn't a teen mom…" he paused. "She...she's almost twenty-two."

Maddy stared at him for a long time, her icy gaze making him more uncomfortable by the second.

"What-"

"Don't judge her because of this, she's a great, amazing person-"

"Who's too old for you," finished the pink troll. Elliot remained silent until Maddy quickly got off her bed and approached the door. "I'm telling Mom and Dad."

"No!" The blue troll launched himself towards his sister, closing the door and locking it again before she could go out.

"You can't lock me in my own room!" Maddy hissed, trying to push past him but he stood his ground, keeping his feet planted on the carpet and arms spread out so she couldn't reach the door knob.

"You can't tell them!" he begged. "Not now!" He hadn't even gotten the urge to ask her to come over as he intended to. He needed to be the one to tell them, not anyone else.

"Oh yeah?! Why not?" she asked, still struggling to get the door open.

"They are under enough stress already. Especially Dad."

"What about him?"

"You don't know what happened with Zander?"

"I've been in here waiting for you!"

"Dad said he went to a friend's house without asking. He's in trouble now. Dad was freaking out because he couldn't find him."

"Well at least he's okay now…" Maddy said, slowly backing up. Sure Zander was annoying but she had gotten so used to it she wouldn't know what she'd do without him.

"Please just don't tell," he begged once more as Maddy sat back down, crossing her arms.

There was another long, uncomfortable silence. But this time Maddy refused to look at him. She fiddled with her hair until she finally looked at him. He looked so desperate. He still stood by the door but his body was straight.

She exhaled. "Fine."

"Thank you…" Finally, he smiled. A huge weight had lifted off of his shoulders once he heard those words. He gave her a quick huge before unlocking the door.

"I won't tell anyone," Maddy said.

* * *

"So let me get this straight: Elliot's girlfriend has a kid?" Sparkie asked, her eyes widening, her turtleneck now almost blocking her mouth.

Now, when Maddy said she wasn't going to tell anyone about Elliot's little secret, it did not apply to her best friend.

"I know…"

"How did you find out?" asked the glittery troll.

"I was walking home on Friday, and I just overheard," explained Maddy.

It was Monday again, and now that Maddy's two weeks were up, she finally had her freedom. She had gone to Sparkie's right after school. She always liked going to Sparkie's. Her house was so much more quiet than hers considering she had no annoying brothers and mice for pets. It was just her, Suki, and Guy. Maddy liked to consider herself their adopted daughter.

"Do your parents know?"

"Elliot begged me not to tell anyone."

Sparkie frowned. "Maddy...then why did you-"

"Sparkie, you're my best friend. It does not apply to you," she said, smiling a little and sitting up. "Now where were we in Boreo and Juliet?"

Her friend chuckled. "You mean _Romeo_ and Juliet?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said. "I know what I said. It's just so _boring_! Like, what are they even saying?!"

"It's easy. They wanna get married in secret," Sparkie said.

Maddy's ear twitched. Only someone like Sparkie would understand Shakespeare.

"Why don't they just _say_ that then?!" These people made everything more complicated than it needed to be! Wasn't Romeo just in love with some other girl the day before?!

The glittery troll chuckled once more. "It's Shakespeare. It takes them forever to get to the point."

"Sounds like my dad," she muttered.

"He'd probably understand this stuff more than anyone," said Sparkie.

"Probably," agreed Maddy.

There was a comfortable silence between the girls before Maddy spoke again. "Mrs. Tabitha was saying that Romeo and Juliet was going to be one of the plays this year, you know."

"I wouldn't have the _nerve_ to audition," Sparkie scoffed.

"I think you'd do great," Maddy smiled, giving her a friendly nudge. "I mean it'd be easy, you actually understand Shakespeare." Though Sparkie was not in drama class, she was in drama club. From what Maddy saw she wasn't a bad actor, she just didn't put herself out there as much as she could have. "The auditions should be soon. You should give it a try."

"Yeah I...I don't know, Maddy…"

Maddy frowned until she looked up to see Suki open the door. "Hey, girls," she said.

"Hey, Mom," Sparkie said, her voice becoming lighter when she saw her mother.

"I just wanted to ask what you guys wanted for dinner."

"I thought dad was making meatloaf."

"He was...but he burnt it."

Sparkie shook her head in amusement and chuckled. "Of course he did."

"I say we order pizza," Maddy smiled.

"Yeah!" Sparkie said.

"Alright, pizza it is then," she said, kissing her daughter's forehead and making her exit.

* * *

Maddy's walk home from Sparkie's was normal. She strained her ears when she head giggling coming from behind a large mushroom.

"Higher!" a voice giggled.

"Higher?" a familiar voice asked, chuckling slightly.

Elliot.

Maddy took a breath out of her nose before approaching the mushroom, peeking her head. The little girl had seen Maddy before anyone else, followed by the red troll (which she inferred was Lexi).

"Elliot, who is that?" asked the salmon colored troll, leaning her head curiously against his freckled shoulder.

"Who…?" His face immediately dropped when he was face to face with his sister.

"That's...my sister…" he slowly put Juno down while Maddy just stared.

Juno quickly hid behind her mother's legs and shyly waved.

"Hello," Lexi said. "I'm Lexi, and this is Juno."

Maddy forced a smile. "Uh, yeah, hi. I'm-"

"Princess Madison, I know," she said, giving her a bow.

The pink troll rolled her blue eyes. "You can just call me Maddy."

"Hi, Maddy," Juno smiled.

Maddy once again forced a smiled and waved. She still did not feel right about this. The whole time she was there she felt rather awkward. Being with Lexi was different than being with the other girlfriends in Elliot's past. She had so much more wisdom and experience than both her and Elliot.

Lexi's pod was small compared to hers, but there was enough room for her and her daughter to grow.

Maddy sat herself onto the couch, still feeling awkward. She jumped when she felt little hands run across her hair gracefully. She looked down to see Juno's mouth forming an "O" and her green eyes widened in wonder. "Pretty hair…" she smiled, continuing to comb it with her hands. It felt nice compared to the way Chloe pulled it all the time. She had never seen anyone more graceful yet fascinated with her hair in her life.

"Mommy! Where are the ribbons? We should put her hair in braids!"

"Oh, no no no-"

"You don't have to if you don't…" Lexi began.

Elliot interrupted by putting his arm around his girlfriend and smirking at Maddy. " I think Maddy would _love_ that!"

"You're evil," Maddy whispered.

* * *

Elliot laughed the entire time on the way home. "Oh shut your trap!" Maddy snapped, punching him in the stomach (which no way affected him, only making him laugh even more).

"Seriously, you actually look really pretty," he said. "You should wear your hair like that more often."

"You're just saying that," the pink troll said, ready to take them out but he stopped her.

"I'm sure _Halo_ would like them," he smirked, putting his hands behind his back teasingly.

"N-No, he wouldn't."

"Yes, he would."

"Wouldn't!"

"Would!"

"WOULDN'T!"

"The guy has been in love with you your whole life!"

"Just drop it. If you like him so much why don't _you_ just date the guy!" she said, feeling herself heat up as she opened the door to their pod. Elliot found any reason to tease Maddy about Halo.

The blue troll laughed at this remark, sure that he was 100% straight as well as Halo.

"Hi, guys," Poppy smiled, lifting her head up from Branch's shoulders. The blue king was reading a book with his black reading glasses on while Zander sat on the floor doodling.

"Hey, Mom," he said, sitting down on the floor next to Zander and slipping off his brown boots. "What are you drawing?" he smiled.

"A glow bug!" The purple troll held up his drawing for Elliot to see while Maddy headed upstairs.

"Are you okay, Bumblebee?" Branch asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," she assured.

"Well...your hair looks pretty," Poppy said, still a bit worried.

"Oh yeah, thanks," she said.

"Who did it?"

She felt herself sinking. "Sparkie," she lied. How long would it be until she spilled the secret? She could never keep in something so long. "I've had a long day...I'm going to bed."

"It's only 7:00…" Branch said, his voice trailing off as he watched his daughter go upstairs followed by the slam of her door. "What's wrong with her?! Did that boy say something?!" Branch asked almost immediately, getting up onto his feet and clenching his fists.

"Branch, just be calm," Poppy said, sitting up as well and rubbing her husbands back. "'That boy' is Halo. That are just friends. And if you haven't noticed, Maddy hasn't been acting herself lately."

Elliot looked up at this. He knew exactly why she hadn't been herself.

"You stay down with the boys, I'll talk to Maddy."

"But-"

"Its girl stuff, you'll just get in the way." She patted his head as if he were her pet, making his ears droopy before she headed upstairs.

"You know, you could have at least given me a kiss!" he pouted.

"Later," the pink troll winked.

Branch huffed, looking back at his boys. Zander was still focused on his picture (Branch was glad Poppy's remark went over his head) while Elliot chuckled in amusement.

Meanwhile, Poppy knocked on her daughter's door. "Sweetie?"

"Come in," Maddy said, her voice sounding a bit nervous.

Poppy opened the door to find her daughter taking the ribbons out of her hair, sitting on her bed.

"Why won't they- come on!" she said irritably, impatiently tugging at the braids.

"I didn't know Sparkie was good with hair," Poppy said, taking a seat next to her.

Maddy looked at her for a moment before going back to the ribbons, her fingers struggling to tangle them away from her hair.

"Here, let me-"

"I've got it, mom-"

"Madison, I'm just trying-"

"Stop!"

"I'm just wanna help-"

"Just let me DO it!" she snapped.

Poppy's eyes widened at her loud voice. There was a silence. A long silence other than Maddy's frustrated grunts.

Once Maddy managed to free herself from all of the ribbons was the moment she realized the look her mother had given her.

"I...I'm sorry…" she said softly. "I just wanna do things on my own sometimes…"

"You're stubborn," Poppy said after a moment.

"I do have stubborn parents," Maddy said, making her mother giggle.

"Listen," she said more seriously. "Whatever is bothering you...you know you can tell me, right?"

Maddy sighed. "I can't."

"Maddy…"

"I can't," she repeated more stubbornly.

"I won't tell anyone, if that is what you are worried about."

"Yes, you will."

"Try me."

"Elliot's dating a twenty-one year old with a kid okay?" As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, she desperately wished she could take them back. She had already told Sparkie, why wasn't that enough for her?

But what was said was what was said. There were no take-backs.

* * *

 **Sooo now both Poppy and Sparkie know! Only a matter of time until Branch founds out! Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger ;)**

 **And I know the first part of this chapter is a bit separate from the rest of the chapter, but it doesn't mean it isn't important. It hints what is to come in the next chapter as well as future chapters.**

 **Anyway imma go, byeeeee!**


	14. Mature Enough (Part 1)

Later that night, Poppy lay on the bed with her hands resting on her stomach, just staring at ceiling. How was she suppose to react to the news given by her daughter? Even worse, how was she expected not to tell Branch? She told him everything. But she made a promise to Maddy, no matter how hard it'd be, that she'd let Elliot tell him.

The seriousness of this situation swarmed through Poppy's mind, making her head pound like a drum. She could barely even hear the water running, for her husband was in the shower.

"Mommy?"

Zander's voice brought her back into reality.

She sat up in the bed. "What is it, baby? What's wrong? What are you doing up?" she asked as the purple troll made his way to her, stumbling a little bit as hot tears still filled his blue eyes.

"I-I had a nightmare," he explained. "C-Can I sleep with you and Daddy?"

"Of course…" She smiled softly, lifting him up and setting him next to her. He curled up beside her, leaning his little head on her chest. "Feel better?" she asked once her arms were tightly around him.

"Yes," he answered quietly, closing his eyes. "Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, kiddo," she said, feeling her voice crack slightly. Man, did she suck at pretending things were fine. But Zander didn't notice at all. He fell back asleep rather quickly, his face now at peace, the way Poppy always liked to see it.

The pink queen watched her son sleep until she heard the door of their bathroom swing open.

Her husband was wrapped in a towel, smirking a moment and opening his mouth to say something but was quickly shushed by Poppy. She simply pointed at Zander as if it was his cue to get dressed. "I'll go put on some pants," he grumped, making Poppy giggle as she watched him drag his feet to the dresser.

"Don't forget underwear."

"Thanks for that, Poppy." He rolled his eyes.

Poppy giggled again, knowing he was just grumpy because she had told him he'd get his kisses later. But how was she to know this would happen? Just like she didn't know about…

"Did he have another nightmare?" Branch asked, slipping on some underwear and pajama pants.

Poppy nodded while the blue troll let out a sigh. "I wonder why. Elliot and Maddy didn't have this much."

"Well...they are heavier sleepers than him. He's like you."

"Huh?"

"He's a light sleeper."

Branch nodded in understanding as he approached her and gave her a kiss.

"What about me?" Zander asked sleepily.

Branch couldn't help but chuckle, leaning in and kissing his forehead. It felt like a million miles away from the bed. The purple troll slept smack in the middle of them, shuffling every once and awhile in his sleep. He may have been a light sleeper like his father, but that did not give him any ability to stay still.

Only a moment did Branch consider moving him, but he remembered Poppy's words so he didn't bother. Now Zander's embrace on his mother was tighter so there was absolutely no point.

His wife was completely silent, her purple-pink eyes closed. He knew she couldn't be just yet. She was laying on her back while Zander laid on her chest, drooling slightly but she did not seem to care.

She seemed so...worn out. Maybe it'll pass, he thought.

But one thing Branch could never do was stop worrying.

* * *

Branch was the first to wake up that morning. The clock read 5:03, meaning there was still time for Poppy and the kids to sleep, but once Branch was awake, he was awake.

Even if he wasn't quite awake yet. But he got up anyway, slipping on his robe and slippers. He smiled at Poppy and Zander before walking out of the room and making his way downstairs to make some coffee and blueberries.

Once his coffee was made, he smiled in satisfaction before getting ready to take a sip until….

"GOOD MORNING, DAD!"

Branch let out a yelp of surprise, jumping a few feet into the hair and spilling his coffee all over his hair and robe.

"Whoops, sorry," Zander said, looking close to laughing as he put his hands behind his back.

"Alexander…" Branch sighed, picking the plastic mug back up and heading back to wash it out. No coffee when Zander was around anymore.

"Can I have some coffee?" the purple troll asked curiously, reaching for the coffee maker, his arms barely even reaching the counter.

"Please, the _last_ thing you need is caffeine," Elliot chuckled as he made his way downstairs in his brown robe.

"But I wanna try it," Zander insisted.

"When you are older," Elliot said, entering the kitchen and pouring the remainder of the coffee in his mug.

"Since when do you drink coffee, Elliot?" Branch asked very slowly, pointing at him with his fingers.

"I like coffee."

"Since when?"

Elliot looked at him for a long time before shrugging. "Since a while."

It wasn't long until Poppy came downstairs, and once she had witnessed this she knew exactly what her son was trying to do.

He was trying to prove that he was mature enough. She let out a small sigh, unsure of how she felt about this and if and how she wanted to stop it.

"If Elliot likes coffee, then you should let him drink it," Poppy said, trying to be nonchalant but deep down was unsure herself. The difference was that she knew something her husband did not. Elliot drinking coffee was only weird to Branch because he had never seen it before, but Poppy knew what it was all about, yet she wasn't going to stop him. For he did not know what she knew.

"Well...okay," Branch said. "I'm gonna go wash my hair."

As the blue troll made his way upstairs, Poppy sat down on the table, rubbing her head that was starting to pound. She had been getting a lot of headaches lately.

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked, sitting down beside her.

"I'm fine, sweetie…" she said, forcing a smile.

"You sure?" he asked, taking another sip.

"I was just wondering...when did you grow up?" It was a question Poppy had pondered every once in awhile. It wasn't just because of Lexi, it was a genuine question.

The blue troll just smiled and shrugged it off. "I couldn't help that."

She knew he was mature. He was the most mature and prepared out of his siblings. A natural born leader, a friend to everyone…

But he just wasn't mature enough to handle something like this.

* * *

Zander looked around the classroom pod carefully before taking his seat, waiting, watching, and listening so Hazel wouldn't scare him again. He still wasn't too keen with her after getting in trouble the other day with his father. All yesterday he had tried to avoid her.

He watched as more of his fellow students piled in the classroom until he finally saw her.

The lime green troll stared right ahead of her with a blank, bored expression until she met Zander's gaze.

Her expression was a complete turn now that she saw the purple troll, and she quickened her pace. "Zandie!" She ran as fast as her legs could take her, attacking him with a hug.

He found himself scarlet, but he remained crossing his arms. "I don't wanna talk to you," he grumbled, turning away from her. His chubby cheek bumped with hers.

"Awww, why not?" she asked, not letting go of him. Before he could answer, she answered for him. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Why?"

"Well, last night I couldn't sleep so I went into my dad's room, okay?"

"Okay…" he said to prove he was listening. But his arms still remained crossed. Suddenly he remembered something. "That's sure funny! I had a nightmare last night so I slept with my Mommy and Daddy. Mommy always calms me down, and before I knew it I was asleep!" he babbled without realization.

Hazel twitched a moment before continuing. "So anyway, we talked about lots of things, even what happened on Friday. So…" she shuffled her feet. "So he wants to apologize to your Dad."

"Why? He didn't do anything." Did he have to remind her that _she_ was the one that _dragged_ him to her _pod_?

"He said he should have been more careful because you're the prince and everything. I don't know much about this royalty stuff, I never thought I'd date a royal."

Zander opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by Miss Sunny.

"Alright class, we have a new student joining us today!"

"Great, more annoying people," Hazel whispered his his ear. He raised an eyebrow at this.

Miss Sunny looked at her for a moment before smiling back at the salmon colored troll. "This is Juno," she said. "All of your first days were scary so I want you all to be nice to her."

She waved shyly with a quiet "hi" before Miss Sunny instructed her to take a seat right in the middle of Zander and Hazel.

"Hi, I'm Zander," he smiled, holding out his hands while Hazel frowned.

"Im Juno," she said, shaking his hand and smiling. She studied him carefully before booping his pink nose. "Your nose looks familiar…"

Zander giggled at this remark.

"What?" Hazel asked in confusion. A nose was a nose!

...Wasn't it?!

The lime green troll furrowed her eyebrows as the two began to hit it off. She crossed her arms tightly and pouted slightly.

"Hey, why don't you sit with us at our table? What do ya say, Hazel?"

"Why? Me, you, and Junior are just fine!"

"Who's Junior?"

"He's my best friend," Zander explained.

"Yeah, he sits with his best friend, _and_ his girlfriend!"

"Hazel, I'm not your-"

He was once again caught off by Miss Sunny.

And Hazel was starting to see green.

* * *

Poppy plopped onto the couch, not even bothering to take off her crown while Branch followed in more slowly. "Tired?" he chuckled.

"It's been a long day…" she sighed into one of the pillows.

"Well, party planning takes a long time. Lots of effort."

"I know. It's an all day thing. It's just exhausting." The pink Queen buried her head into the pillow some more while Branch slipped off her crown and took out her ponytail. He found it a bit strange that Poppy was more tired than he was.

"Poppy, is everything okay?" he asked worriedly as he placed both of their crowns neatly on the coffee table.

She hesitated. She still couldn't tell, not yet. "Everything is fine," she insisted. "I'm just really tired."

Branch still wasn't sure. He felt her forehead, wondering if she might have been coming down with something, but it felt normal. He sat on his chair and began to read his book, looking at Poppy every once in awhile as well as keeping a sharp eye on the time. He was going to have to get Zander soon.

Poppy had drifted into sleep quite easily, given she didn't get very much sleep last night.

Branch let out a small sigh. Every minute felt like an hour until he finally got up, careful not to wake his wife. He set down his book where the lamp was and grabbed a sticky note.

* * *

"Look, she's finally awake," Elliot said, sounding slightly amused.

"Huh…?" Poppy looked around, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What?" She spit out some hair that was in her face.

"You've been asleep since we got home. Dad made dinner," he explained.

"Oh…" She sat up and stretched, the smell of pasta filling her nostrils. "I'll be right there," she told him.

Elliot curtly nodded and made his way back to the kitchen.

Poppy sat there for a while, trying her hardest to gather her thoughts. The nap only made her feel worse.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "I've got it!" she heard Zander say, rushing to the door while Poppy got up, Branch at both of their heels.

Zander let out a gasp of surprise when he saw Hazel. She was ready to run towards him until Cody held her back.

"Dad!"

The red troll looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about her. She has a little crush, it seems…"

"It isn't a crush! I'm in a very serious relationship, mind you! Tell him, Zander." She closed her eyes, waiting for the purple troll to defend her, but when she opened her eyes he was gone. "Men," she sighed, shaking her head. "First they love ya and then they leave ya!"

Cody let out a small chuckle as well as Poppy while Branch just stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

Cody then cleared his throat. "Listen, I'm not good at these things...but I just wanted to apologize for what happened on Friday. I should have been more careful."

"It's alright, Cody," Poppy said before Branch could say anything. "Right, Branch?" The blue troll was honestly in no mood to to get into another argument with Cody. Well, it wasn't an argument considering Branch had done most of the yelling. He did feel a little guilty about behaving like that, he was just worried.

"You don't wanna have a bad relationship with your future in-law do you?"

"Poppy, I think you're getting a little too ahead…"

He was cut off when the red troll laughed again, somewhat out of his own nervousness. "Well, our kids are in love."

Branch's ear twitched for a moment. "We can tell by the way Zander ran away from her."

"Branch!" the pink troll nudged him.

"He didn't run away from me!" Hazel protested. "He had somewhere to go for all you know, mister!" She stuck her tongue out at the king.

"Hazel, be respectful please," Cody said. "Apologize."

"Sorry…"

"For what?"

"Being disrespectful."

"And?"

She glanced at her father longingly. "Daadd," she sighed.

"Go on! If I have to you have to."

"But-"

"We pinky swore," he reminded her, even showing her his pinky.

The lime green troll looked up at her bangs that were annoyingly in her face. She began to lightly blow at her red hair.

"Say it," he said.

Hazel let out a soft growl. "I'm sorry I kidnapped your son…"

"Hazel! That was just a joke! I'm really sorry guys…"

"It's okay," Poppy chuckled. "We forgive you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for freaking out on you…" Branch said, letting out an awkward, forced chuckle.

"It's chill, you'll do whatever it takes to protect your kid," he smiled as he lifted up his daughter and held her tightly. "You guys have a good evening."

"You too, Cody," Branch said.

"Tell Zander I love him!" Hazel hollered from behind her Dad's shoulders.

"You don't have to repeated that!" Cody called without even looking back.

Poppy thought long and hard about his words as she watched the two walk away. _You do whatever it takes…_ She slowly walked back to the table and sat down, looking at Elliot. She wanted to tell him everything Maddy did. But with Maddy sitting right next to her, she couldn't break her promise.

But what he said made her not have to.

"So, I talked to Lexi and she asked me to ask if she could come over to dinner this Friday," said Elliot.

Maddy looked close to choking on her milk by now.

"Oh, yes! Of course!" Branch said excitedly as he sat Poppy's pasta in front of her and kissed her head.

Maddy was no longer interested in her food, and Poppy only worried more.

* * *

 **Alright! Chapter fourteen done! So lime I did with Lightweight, I decided to break this chapter up. They were originally going to meet Lexi i in this chapter but I decided to add some Zander and Hazel moments, they are just too cute XD**

 **But they definitely will in the next one! Be prepared for some drama because it's about to go down man.**

 **And there are a few references to the Christmas special if you caught them. I have only seen clips but not the full thing yet, people have been able to but I am gonna wait.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it! Thank you for your comments. They truly keep me going so thank you to those who continue to read! It means a lot so thanks :D**


	15. Mature Enough (Part 2)

"So, what do you think?" Chloe asked the orange troll, extending her arms out just for effect. "It's a gem, huh?"

"It looks nice, Chloe!" Halo smiled at her while Maddy just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Something in Halo's smile made her wanna die inside. He couldn't have been flirting, was he…? Wait, why did she care?! "I wish you'd stop bragging about it," she mumbled. "Being a cheerleader is lame!"

Chloe frowned. "Is not!"

"I don't think it is, Honeybun," Halo said.

"Now you're taking her side?!"

"Is someone jealous?" the pink troll smirked, putting her hand on her hips matter-of-factly. Yes, she may have been a bit annoying, but she was no fool. But then again, everyone did know that Halo never loved anyone in his life other than Maddy. And that wasn't going to change because of one cheer outfit.

"You know, giving someone a compliment and flirting with them is completely different, Madison."

The pink troll giggled as she walked away. "Lovebirds…" she sighed dreamily. "If I were to ever be so lucky to…" Her gaze met Elliot. "Hey, Elliot!"

Maddy rolled her eyes once more at the pink troll who was now talking up a storm while her brother would nod every once and awhile as if he pretended he cared. She knew he didn't. He was just too nice to say it.

"She is making such a fool of herself," Maddy growled.

"You know, maybe you shouldn't be so mean. She's actually pretty nice," Halo said. If anything, he was just like Elliot. Too nice.

"How would _you_ know that?"

Halo smirked, wondering how far he could push her. "I hang out with her all the time. We're good friends."

"You're lying." Her arms remained crossed.

"No, no! Complete truth!"

"Halo!"

The orange troll backed up when the pink troll began to growl. "I was just joking, Honeybun," he laughed nervously, finding himself blush as she stepped forward. Sudden panic surged through him. "Don't kill me! I'm just a boy!"

Maddy couldn't help but giggle in amusement. "I wouldn't kill you. You can never make out with Chloe if I do that," she said, playfully nudging him.

"Yeah…" he said softly, looking back at the tall troll who was still talking to Elliot. She wasn't his type at all. "You know who else I'd rather make out with…?" he asked, turning back to his crush.

Maddy's face had already turned red by the time the bell rang. "C'mon, lover boy, let's go to class." The pink troll took him by the wrist, making him laugh all the way to PE.

* * *

Maddy was going to be the first to say that basketball was the dumbest sport ever invented. She could never bring herself to get a good grip on the ball. Whenever she did, Chloe would always scoop it away from her.

She had never seen such a look of pure joy before she had seen Chloe playing basketball. She seemed to get a kick out of it even more than she did her cheer moves. But the thing she lacked was being a good sport about it. Whenever she'd make a basket she'd take the time to brag about it, leaving the ball open for anyone to get. Luckily it was usually one of her teammates.

She also became even _more_ bossy than normal, yelling at the other girls to block the other team, telling them to get open every chance they got, and to not hesitate and just shoot.

Some girls would consider themselves lucky to be part of Chloe's team considering they won each time, but Maddy already had enough of her anyway. She couldn't care less about who was on her team because it was only a game.

Once Chloe was in this zone it was something she couldn't get out of until the whistle was blown by Miss Patty.

"Alright, ladies, we are done for the day," the mint green troll said, finishing her chips.

"Good job, Chloe," Miss Patty said, putting her hand up to high five her, but the pink troll put her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

"T...Thanks," she said, completely out of breath.

"You okay, Chloe?" Coral asked in concern, rubbing her back.

"Yeah, I...I'm fine." She slowly stood up, taking slower breaths to calm herself down.

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" Miss Patty asked.

She looked down at the floor with her hands behind her back. "No…" she cleared her throat and swallowed her dry throat. "No, ma'am. I'm okay. C'mon, Coral." She didn't even wait for her before the yellow troll shared an awkward glance with her teacher and headed towards the locker room.

Maddy tilted her head. _What was that all about?_

She simply shook her head, sure it was nothing.

"Thank goodness that is over," the red troll on her team said.

"Until tomorrow," Maddy reminded her.

She sighed, running her hand through her thick brown hair. "Don't remind me. I can't wait till next semester where I don't have to take this class anymore."

"Me too," Maddy agreed.

"Chloe is sure bossy," she muttered.

"Tell me about it…" she said as they made their way back to the locker room.

"I'm Ellie, by the way," she said, giving Maddy a small smile and holding out her hand. "I'm a freshman."

Ellie. That was easy to remember considering Elliot was her brother.

"I'm Maddy," she said, shaking her hand. Suddenly, she remembered something. She swore she heard that name before. "Hey...your name sounds-"

"Oh no, he _talks_ about me?!"

"Who?"

"My Dad! He teaches geometry."

"Mr. Malcolm?"

"That's him," she said.

Maddy understood completely. She wouldn't want her father to work at her school, either.

* * *

"So I met my math teacher's daughter today," Maddy said on her and Elliot's walk home.

"Awww, Madds, you're finally making friends!" Elliot smiled teasingly.

"I have friends." She put her hand into her pockets. "We just walked Sparkie home. And I can't go over there because of _you_."

"Well excuse me for doing the right thing and having my family meet Lexi today," Elliot said, teasingly sliding her hat down to her face so she could no longer see.

Maddy growled at him as she fixed it and entered their pod.

She knew despite his constant teasing, he was terrified inside. After all, he was one that was able to hold back his emotions.

Maddy was not the only one surprised to see Cardigan on the couch (exactly where Branch never liked Elliot's pet to be). Branch and Poppy both lay on the couch, using Cardigan's furry belly as a pillow.

The mouse looked miserable until he saw Elliot.

"Hi, buddy," Elliot whispered, careful not to wake his parents up, but Branch was quick to shoot up once Cardigan jumped off the couch and stumbled awkwardly to his owner, nearly pinning him down. "That's a good boy! That's a good boy!" he cooed, getting onto his knees and rubbing his stomach.

Maddy just rolled her eyes and made her way upstairs only to be immediately greeted by Zander.

Poppy rubbed her head and yawned, her headache seemingly worse than before.

"So when is Lexi coming?" asked Branch, stretching his tired body.

"She said around five-ish," Elliot answered, petting Cardigan's fur.

"I'll make spaghetti," Branch said. "How does that sound?"

"That sounds great," Elliot smiled, though he felt like he had shrunk inside. His father was the most excited to meet Lexi, but he wasn't sure if he would be too excited when he actually did.

* * *

Elliot's heart began to race when their was a knock at the door. He knew exactly who it was.

"I'll get it!" Zander smiled, looking up from his coloring book and getting onto his feet. Elliot quickly got up to stop him before he could answer the door, but his brother was quicker than him.

Zander was surprised when he saw Juno, for she was the first one he saw before Lexi. "Juno?"

"Zander?"

"Hi Lexi!" Elliot said quickly, putting his hands on Zander's shoulders. "This is my brother Zander."

"Nice to meet ya, lady!" The purple troll smiled, holding his hand out.

"What a gentlemen," Lexi giggled, shaking his hand.

"Lexi! C'mon in!" Branch smiled from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready. I hope you like spaghetti!"

Poppy peered from the small opening located right above the stove. She quickly looked back and glanced anxiously at Maddy, who tensed as Lexi and Juno entered.

Branch was now the only one that was not aware. He was just happy at the moment to finally meet his son's girlfriend. The blue troll opened his eyes again, the large bowl of spaghetti grasped in his hands.

"Alright, I love spaghetti!" Juno said excitedly while Zander smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Who is this?" he asked.

Lexi opened her mouth to answer but Branch interrupted.

"Oo! Lemme guess! Uhhh, sister? Cousin? Neice-"

"Branch…" Poppy said softly, forcing herself to smile. "Let her finish." Poppy began to worry herself as well as Maddy, who was focused on getting her food and plopping it on her plate, hoping to avoid the family drama that was yet to come.

"Oh, Juno is my daughter," Lexi explained while Elliot smiled nervously yet he refused to make eye contact with his father who had grown silent.

"Oh…"

Poppy slowly took the large bowl of spaghetti while Branch twitched slightly before smiling. "Well, it's nice to uh...finally meet you both. I'm Branch, and that's my wife Poppy."

Poppy smiled at her. "Come on, you two should sit down. Let's all get to know each other."

* * *

The entire dinner was one of the most awkward experiences of Elliot's young life. The good thing was that Lexi seemed to like his family, but the bad thing was he did not know how they felt about her. He knew every time his dad would open his mouth to say something to his girlfriend his voice was judgemental. Lexi knew this, too, but didn't say anything about it.

Sometimes Juno or Zander would ask Branch if everything was alright, for they did not know the seriousness of this situation. Juno and Zander got along just fine. It was a rather funny story for them considering they had class together.

"It was nice meeting you guys," Poppy said before they left while Branch gave them a curt nod.

Elliot gave her one last smile then went back to cleaning up the table. Maddy still sat there in silent, She hadn't said but two words the whole time, and Elliot knew why. "So...what do you guys think?" the blue prince asked after a moment.

"I like her!" Zander smiled. "She's really nice, and she's a Mommy just like you, Mom!"

"That's right, sweetie," Poppy said, scooping him up.

"Poppy, why don't you go give Zander his bath?" Branch asked, his gaze not leaving Elliot's. "Maddy, you help."

The pink troll opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it. "I-Alright," she said, standing beside her mother.

"Let's go," Poppy said to them.

As the three made their way upstairs Branch exhaled as he approached his oldest, unsure exactly what he wanted to say. He watched him clean the table without even being asked, once again trying to prove his maturity.

"You can stop with this now, I know you are mature, Elliot," he said.

"Stop with what?" he asked, wringing out the wash rag.

"Trying to be mature, I know you are," explained Branch.

"Well, good then," he said, still refusing to make eye contact and getting ready to leave, but he felt a grip on his wrist.

"Look at me," Branch said in a voice that didn't make him want to look.

Once he finally made eye contact it was hard to look away. He could not identify what he saw. Was he mad? Disappointed? Conflicted? He didn't know. He looked at him in a way that he never looked at him before.

"I have a question," Branch said, letting go of his wrist.

"Yes?"

"What were you thinking?"

"Huh-"

"Elliot, I don't want you to take this the wrong way or anything, but you understand that Lexi has a lot of baggage, right?"

"It's only one kid, and she's really sweet-"

"What were you thinking?" he asked in a lower voice. "What _are_ you thinking?"

Elliot stared at him for a long time. "Oh...Oh my...you don't think I'm responsible enough for this, do you?" he asked in shock.

"No. I don't." It pained him to say it, but he wasn't.

"Why?" Elliot asked, his voice louder than before. "You don't think I'm grown up enough? I'm seventeen! I'm almost an adult-"

" _Almost_ an adult," Branch reminded him, clenching his fist tight. He didn't want to yell. It was the last thing he wanted. "Just because you are a senior in high school does not mean you are ready to have a kid!"

"She isn't my kid, but I'll love her! I'll love her like my own."

"You aren't listening to me, Elliot!" he shouted. "You don't know the responsibilities of being a parent! You don't know _anything_ about that! Nothing!"

"I still don't see the big issue! I'm still getting to know Juno! You can't just assume that I am not responsible enough."

"What if something bad happens, huh? Then what? What'll you do then? What if you babysit and something goes terribly wrong, and you don't know how to fix it?"

Elliot paused for a moment. He was never in that situation before.

"How are you gonna handle that?"

In the past where he had babysat Maddy and Zander nothing like that ever happened. When it did he knew exactly what to do. He knew his siblings more than they knew themselves, and he knew how to fix what was broken.

"How?" his father demanded.

He opened his mouth to say something but closed it.

"How?!" he repeated.

"I will handle it, okay?!" he yelled.

"How will you handle it?!"

"I just _will_! What else do you want me to say?!"

Poppy let out a long sigh when she heard yelling from downstairs. "Maddy, will you stay with him?"

"Why do I have to stay?"

"You know he doesn't like being alone in the bathtub anymore thanks to you."

Maddy grew silent as she thought about a year before when she told Zander to be careful because of the bath octopus.

"It was just a joke," she mumbled. She knew it wasn't to Zander. "Zander, there are no monsters."

"Yes, there are!" insisted the purple troll.

Poppy began to feel herself shake as she made her way downstairs to see both her husband and her son arguing, getting louder by the moment. She quickened her pace as she made her way downstairs.

"Stop it!" she interrupted, pulling them away from each other. "Stop fighting!"

Elliot took a few deep breaths, glaring at his father as he fixed his scarf. "Fine."

"Yeah, listen to her!" Branch crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Branch, don't," Poppy said warningly.

"He doesn't listen to me! He only listens to you, never to me!"

"Oh, come _on_ ," Elliot growled.

"It's true!"

Poppy did not say anything. If she did, she might spill. Before she got the chance Elliot pushed passed his parents and approached the door.

"And just where are you going?" Branch asked sternly, taking a few steps forward only to be stopped by his wife.

"Anywhere else but here," Elliot muttered, slamming the door behind him.

Branch took another step forward but once again was held back. "Branch, let him go."

He looked into her eyes and saw the desperation in them. But he still could not bring himself to calm down. There was way too much that he had to let out.

"Why?" he demanded, struggling against her tight grip.

"He needs his space!"

"He needs some sense, Poppy! That's what he needs!"

"Just _listen_ -"

"No! I need to get to-"

"I KNEW, okay?!" she bursted out, feeling as if her loud voice shook the entire pod.

Branch stared at her with his icy blue eyes clouded with confusion. "W...What do you...knew what-"

"I-I...I knew. A-About Elliot and Lexi." Her voice made a terrible cracking noise. She wanted the carpet of the living room to open up beneath her feet and swallow her whole. The look on his face is what hurt her the most.

He stared at her for a long time. It felt like hours that they just stared at one another. She felt his hot breath on her face.

"H...How?" was the only thing he managed to joke out.

"Maddy."

His anger came back almost instantly. "Maddy?! How did she know?!"

"Don't get mad at Maddy, it wasn't her fault."

"How could you _do_ this to me?!"

"I didn't mean to…" she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Branch just shook his head at his wife. This was a serious situation, how could she not tell him? She kept it from him. She kept it from _him._ She _knew._ Did Elliot not trust him enough to tell him himself?

He did not understand teenagers. Not one bit.

He did not understand Poppy, either.

* * *

Branch was silent for the next few hours, and he remained that way all night, just thinking about everything that had been going on, and it wasn't just this situation that was stressing him out.

The kids were safely in bed, yet Elliot's door was locked. But he was safe.

He pulled the purple comforter closer to him and wrapped it around his blue body, letting out a sigh. Poppy was on the other side of him, her back faced to him. He turned over to the other side, sighing again.

His eyes widened when he felt her familiar arms wrap around him. He didn't move. He couldn't move. All he could do was wait until morning.

* * *

Poppy woke up later than usual that morning. She felt for her husband underneath the comforter, but she did not feel him. "Branch?" she asked softly. No answer. She looked around the room but she didn't see him. Maybe he was downstairs. She quickly swept through the hallway, careful not to wake any of the kids up.

As she made her way downstairs, she whispered his name but there was no answer. The pod was completely quiet. "Branch?" she asked again, her voice louder as she made her way outside, not even bothering to get dressed.

She let the fresh dew of the grass on the troll tree sink into her pink toes. She exhaled.

"Good morning, Queen Poppy!" a few trolls greeted her before she could take a step.

"Um, yes, good morning," she said, shifting her feet.

"Are you okay?" another troll asked.

"Yeah, uh, have you guys seen Branch?"

"No, not hide nor hair," said another one. "Do you want us to help look?"

Poppy thought about that for a moment. "No, I'm okay, I can find him." No one knew him better than she knew him. She knew his fears, his deepest, darkest secrets. She knew he didn't like the covers over his toes, she knew he could not fully function without coffee, she knew exactly when he was sad and when he was happy. She knew when he was faking a smile when inside he was breaking. If she knew all of this, she'd know exactly where to look and where not to look. So, she set off to the lowest level of the troll tree facing opposite of Bergen Town. She strained her ears when she heard the familiar sobs coming from her husband, and it shattered her tiny heart in a million peices. She looked behind a large mushroom where she found him.

"G-Go away!" Branch said, quickly wiping away his tears. But the more he tried to hide it the quicker the waterfall escaped from his blue eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere," Poppy whispered, bending down on her knees. He did not look at her. He couldn't. He continued to butt his knees, and he buried his face into them. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" she began.

"I-It-It's not just that…" he trailed off.

"Then what is it?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's _everything_." He looked up for only a moment and then looked back down.

"Branch…" The pink troll sat next to him. "Please look at me. Tell me what's wrong."

He didn't want her to ever see him like this. She had before, but it wasn't something that normally happened. It had many times but not for a very long time.

"I-I can't…"

"Yes, you can." She pulled his chin up with her finger. "You know you can tell me anything. You've always known that." Even when he was grey, he could talk to her. There were times when he felt he could open up to her; be himself around her. But he'd always brush the feeling off and go back to his old ways. But he couldn't do that now. The day he said "I do" she became part of him. She became the one he could always talk to when he was upset. She was right. He could talk to her.

Branch took a deep breath, feeling his throat tighten as he leaned his head against the mushroom. He was exhausted. "E-Elliot hates me…" he whispered.

"No, no no no," Poppy said calmly. "Your son doesn't hate you. You got into a fight." She even had to admit it was odd to see them fight. They always got along so well. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, his eyes filling with tears once again. "Did you not think I could handle the truth?"

"I'm sorry, I-I just didn't think it was my place to say it."

"Poppy, we are a team. You can't just keep these things me," he said, no longer feeling angry at her. He couldn't hold a grudge for a long time. There was absolutely no point. He held her hand, rubbing circles on the top of her hand.

"I know…" she whispered. "It...It was stupid...I just didn't know what to do."

"I get it. Elliot shouldn't have put you in the middle. You or Maddy."

She intertwined his fingers with his. "Yeah, he shouldn't. I just need you to know that I really am sorry," she said, a tear streaming down her face.

"And losing Zander last week…" He put his face into his hands. "And Maddy, getting into this trouble with everyone, if only she'd just keep her mouth shut…"

"She can't, she's too much like me in that way," Poppy said.

Branch looked close to smiling through his tears but then he frowned. "I just…I let things all bubble up inside me and...and I just...I can't…"

He was interrupted when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him hard. He hugged her back, breathing in her familiar scent. Once they broke apart, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You never told me what you thought of this," Branch said after a long moment of silence.

"About what?" she asked, slowly lifting her head.

"Elliot and Lexi…" he paused, swallowing hard. "And Juno."

"I didn't have the chance," said the pink queen. There was a moment of silence between the two until she spoke up. "I don't like it either," she admitted. "But it is his choice, and if he gets hurt in the end, you can't say that you didn't try to stop it. It's his decision, Branch. No one can make it for him."

* * *

 **Finally finished, I feel like this took a lot longer than it should have haha, well at least I am done for now. So, whether or not you agree with Poppy or not, she knows she can't stop Elliot from seeing Lexi. And in a way she knows what is going to happen as well as you guys. But no spoilers!**

 **1)This part of the chapter actually foreshadows a few things about Chloe which will be more important later on, so I just wanted yall to pay attention to that detail although it is very small. Just keep it in the back or your mind in the chapters yet to come. I know how you all may feel about her but she really does have a lot of development, even if it isn't all in this book.**

 **So anyway, that's the wrap! Happy Thanksgiving Eve!**


	16. To Be, Or Not To Be

**I'm so sorry for the lack of updating! I've had terrible writer's block recently plus I've been busy with stuff.**

 **Here's the chapter!**

* * *

As Elliot made his way downstairs, his heart began to beat faster. He had no idea what he was to say to his father. He felt as if he let him down somehow; as if his dad thought he no longer cared about his family.

He rolled up the sleeves of his robe, telling himself that it was now or never.

"Dad?"

Branch was drinking his coffee straight out of the coffee maker.

"Are you okay?" he asked, slowly approaching him.

There was a long pause before the blue King answered. "Fine, just getting a cup of coffee," he said quickly.

"The whole pot?"

"So?!" the blue troll asked, feeling himself getting defensive over his coffee. Elliot would have chuckled if it wasn't for their unresolved fight last night. He just needed some time. They _both_ needed some time to cool off.

"Sorry," Elliot said quickly, sitting down at the table. "I just wanted to talk."

Branch didn't say anything as he made his way to the table, and he let his feet drag and his ears drop. "Okay," he said, taking a seat. "Let's talk, then."

"I…" Elliot shifted and restarted his sentence. "I'm not sure what I could say to change your mind…"

"I'm sorry," Branch interrupted.

Elliot paused and stared contintely at him, unsure of what he could say or even if his father _wanted_ him to say anything.

"Your mother and I talked, and-"

"Where is Mom?" he asked, instantly feeling bad for interrupting but Branch still answered.

"She's out tending to her morning duties," he said. "She'll be back soon."

Elliot nodded in understanding, knowing exactly what Branch meant. His parents always taught him that morning duties as a ruler was one of the most important jobs. It was a good way, Poppy had said, to make sure things in the village were as they appeared to be. It helped a ruler get to know their people as individuals rather than just one large species.

"Anyway," Branch said after he sipped his coffee. "I was talking with her this morning, and we have decided that if you want to date Lexi, you can. But you must be responsible about it."

The blue prince wanted to ask him what made him change his mind so quickly, but he decided not to pester him. He admittedly felt a sense of relief wash over him at this point, and he let himself smile.

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

The weekend passed Elliot by, as always, and with his parents' blessing, he got to see Lexi during the weekend without sneaking around.

And he felt exhausted. He spent almost his entire Sunday spending some time with Juno, going to just about every place imaginable.

The question of how his parents changed their minds so quickly about the whole situation still floated in his mind.

He took a breath before entering the library pod, knowing school was going to start soon but he needed to do some crammed reading before his English test. He had not gotten a thing done all weekend, and he knew if he was ever to pass the test he needed to study.

He sat down on one of the beanbags and took off his backpack, quickly reaching for his book. He opened it up to find his numerous sticky notes where he had written all the key factors to understand what was truly happening. It was a great story, really, it was just the ending. The ending left off on the biggest cliffhanger, and it didn't even explain-

"What are you doing in here, freckle boy?" a voice curiously asked.

"Not now, Chloe," he said, trying his hardest to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"I just wanted to say hi," she said, sitting down next to him, getting way too close for his liking.

"Yeah, hi," he said, slowly scooting away from her.

"What are you reading?" she asked curiously, scooting closer again.

"It's for English…" he said, not even looking at her this time, his eyes glued to the book.

"What's it about?"

He was quiet for a long time before he looked up and smiled politely. "Why don't you go find Coral?"

"Ugh, no thank you," the pink troll gaged. "She just _had_ to get herself a boyfriend, who just _had_ to be my cousin. Seth never likes it when I tag along with them. Being third wheel sucks." She cupped her face in her hands irritably and sighed a long time.

Elliot had nothing to say to this in response. He could never say he was in that situation, considering he never had a true friend like Coral was to Chloe, or Sparkie and Maddy or even Griffin and Cody, that he did not know very well but they were always together. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for Chloe, but he had no idea what he could possibly say or do to make her feel better. Well, he knew what she wanted but he was certain that would never happen. Sure she was beautiful and had certain charm. But whether the charm was over the top or just plain annoying he could not tell.

"You know, I haven't even gotten to see her all weekend," she ranted as he continued to read and write down more on the posted notes.

"And how do you feel about that?" he asked, half listening.

"Well…" She lay her head on his lap. "It makes me feel-"

Elliot immediately stood up and moved to one of the round tables instead.

Chloe only lay there for a moment before getting onto her feet and sitting across from him. "So anyway, it makes me feel like...left out, you know? I mean, Seth doesn't care about anyone! He's gonna dump her and then guess who she's gonna be crawling back to? Me!"

Elliot exhaled, finally looking up from his book. "There's nothing you can do to stop Coral from spending time with him. I mean, they are dating now. And this is high school, it doesn't mean the rest of your lives. If she gets dumped, she'll learn."

Chloe thought about that for a moment until realizing he was probably right.

Little did Elliot know, he should have taken his own advice.

* * *

"Alright, today we are going to learn about Shakespeare!" Mrs. Tabitha said excitedly. The rest of the class, however, did not share as much excitement as their teacher.

"Nappy-time," Halo murmured in Seth's ear.

The dark blue troll only looked at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Mrs. Tabitha.

The pink troll grabbed a light blue hat and began to shake it lightly. "Now, I am going to give you a line from one of Shakespeare's plays, and you are going to build a scene off of that one line in groups of five or six." Tabitha came around the classroom, passing out the colorful slips of paper to every few students.

"You may pick your groups," she said, lastly approaching Seth, who huffed before taking out a line.

" _To be, or not to be."_

The young young troll scoffed, ready to put the paper back into the hat and chose something else. He had enough of Shakespeare in English, where they were reading Romeo and Juliet.

Before be could do so, Tabitha quickly pulled the hat away.

"Ah, ah, ah! You just choose your destiny! No take-backs, kid!"

Seth opened his mouth to protest, but she interrupted him.

"That is one of Shakespeare's most famous lines in the play, Hamlet!"

He did not have anything to say in response, for Tabitha was already walking back to the front of the class.

"What did you get?" Halo asked.

Seth showed the orange troll the quote.

"Wow, what does that even mean?" Halo asked, his brown eyes filled with awe.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You wanna be in mine and Maddy's group? We could use more people."

Maddy looked up from the rubix cube she had been fiddling with. "Huh? Halo, I never said I would-"

"C'mon, Maddy! Please?"

While Halo pulled out the puppy-dog-eyes, Seth turned his attention up front to Coral, who was talking up a storm with Elliot. He wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn't seem to gather his words. He tried to keep his anger under control, knowing very well that Elliot had a girlfriend, and he wasn't going to try anything. But, still, he was trying to be in a relationship without being afraid of getting too attached. He couldn't make any promises that it'd be forever, because he knew in high school nothing mattered. Why was he even trying?

Finally, Coral's gaze met his. "You wanna be in our group?"

"Well, I'm kinda in-"

"Can I be in your group?" Chloe asked from behind Seth.

"Of course!" Coral smiled at her friend who got up off her chair and sat down in the middle of them. Clearly, Seth was not the only one jealous.

"If you are already in a group, that's okay," Coral smiled. "We don't have the same lines, anyway."

"Okay," Seth said, barely hearing his own voice as he turned back to Halo and Maddy.

"She's in!" Halo said excitedly.

"Yaaayyy," Maddy said through her teeth, doing an effortless little dance with her fingers.

"Well, aren't you just the life of the party, Madison," Seth sneered.

The pink troll rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Why does he have to he in our group?!"

"I'm just trying to be nice. You never know what goes on in other people's minds, Maddy. So kill em with kindness!" The orange troll shook his fist with determination. He had said his last sentence rather loudly, resulting a few glances from the other students.

Halo blushed slightly, hiding his face and smiling nervously, fiddling with his hug time bracelet. "Heh…"

Tabitha just giggled in amusement before looking back down at the papers on her desk.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Seth said slowly, getting up on his feet and made his way to the front. He teasingly ran a finger up the back of Coral's spine. The yellow troll let out a yelp of surprise before nervously chuckling. He smiled at her.

He thought long and hard about what Halo had said, and the words seem to stick with him throughout the entire day.

* * *

"Well, well, well, look who's finally doing his homework?" Chenille smiled from behind Seth's back, making the dark blue troll jump in surprise.

"Mom! Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" she asked innocently, laughing all the way to the living room where she continued to work on a dress.

Seth rolled his eyes, going back to his notebook where he went back to his assignment.

"What class is that for?" Chenille asked from the livingroom.

"English."

"Romeo and Juliet?"

"That's the one."

"I remember reading that, though I don't remember it well."

Seth nodded, then smirked. "It's too bad you're _old_."

Chenille nearly ripped the fabric. " _What?_ "

Seth gulped. "I said…"

He was saved by the bell when there was a knock at the door. He sighed in relief, slouching down in the chair. "Who is it?"

His mother shrugged, setting down the dress neatly and approaching the door. Once she opened it, it came to a surprise to see Hazel standing there with her arms crossed, studying her nails.

"Hazel…?"

Seth cocked his head at the little girl.

"I have a proposition for you," said the lime green troll, finally looking at her.

Chenille looked around for Cody, but he wasn't in sight. "Where's your dad?" she asked.

"At home," she answered simply. "I need a favor."

The blue troll bit her lip, unsure if she should let Hazel in or not. But Hazel was the one to make that decision, and before she knew it she was already walking in. She was quick to approach the kitchen, where she found Seth.

"Um, who are you?" the blue troll asked.

The lime green troll put her hands in the pockets of her overalls. "I'm Hazel, who wants to know?"

"Yes, ma'am," he smirked. "You're straightforward. I like you."

Chenille was quick to follow her. "Is your dad okay with you being here?" she asked, bending down to her level.

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," she said, shrugging.

"What do you mean you're sure? I need a yes, honey."

"It'll just be real quick, I promise!" she insisted.

Chenille glanced at Seth, who shrugged his shoulders and continued to read the play.

"You make dresses, right?" Hazel asked, just to be sure.

Chenille nodded awkwardly. "Yes…"

"I need a dress."

"For…?" Chenille had to admit it was strange for Hazel to ask for a dress considering she never wore one. She wasn't like a lot of the girls her age in the troll tree. There was something about her that made her different. She couldn't say the same about her father, for he was just like any other man that only wanted one thing.

"For myself?"

"Is that a question?" Seth raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"No."

"Well, alright," Chenille agreed.

Hazel's face lite up like a Christmas tree. "Thanks Chenille! Here's my design!" She took out a sloppy doodle that she created with crayons on a napkin at lunch and gave it to Chenille.

Hazel was ready to run off until Chenille gripped her wrist.

"Wait, I need to measure you first," she smiled.

"For what?"

"Your size. When making a dress, you must get the precise measurement. Fashion is not just an art, it's a science."

Seth rolled his eyes. It was something he had heard his mother say countless amounts of times.

"I'm going upstairs, you two have fun."

Hazel wished she could go with him. She just wanted a dress, not a lecture. "So, that's your son?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "I have a daughter, too. She's upstairs."

"I've always wanted siblings," Hazel said as Chenille measured her waist. "Now I have some! I knew I made the right choice! I've been looking for so long and I've finally found the right one!"

Chenille nearly dropped the measuring tape. "Huh?"

Hazel smiled at her. "My new Mom."

* * *

 **Sorry if it might have been a disappointment for being gone a few weeks, but personally I'm happy with this little chapter. The ending hit me right in the heart mannnn!**

 **Please don't hesitate to tell me what you think! :)**


	17. Not So Grown Up

Coral tugged her book close to her before closing her locker. "Chloe, do you think I look okay?"

The pink troll looked up from doing her makeup, studied her up and down, then smiled at her. "You almost look at good as me, why do you ask?"

The yellow troll rolled her eyes at her friend, knowing Chloe was just as insecure. Sure, she was beautiful, but Coral knew her enough to know how unconfident she truly was.

"Why do you ask?" Chloe said when her when friend didn't reply.

"W-Well," she blushed. "I have a date with Seth tonight…sorta, I'm going to his pod for dinner."

As soon as Chloe heard Seth's pod, she couldn't help but gag when she thought of her aunt's cooking. It wasn't something Chenille was ever good at, as far as Chloe was concerned. Whenever they did go over she was forced by her parents to eat her food, no matter _how_ bad it was. But even _they_ didn't want to eat it.

"Ooh.."

"What?"

Chloe bit her lip. "You've never had anything Chenille has cooked, have you?"

"Why would I?" Coral asked. "Is her cooking good?" she smiled.

"More like the opposite…"

"Oh...well your mom is-"

"My aunt is not my mom. They may look alike, but they are different."

"Define different."

"Let's see...my mom can cook, aunt Chenille can't!" Chloe knew there were a lot more differences than just that, but she did not have the time and energy to list _all_ of them.

Coral stared at her. "Well, I guess I'll take your word for it, then."

Chloe gave her a curt nod before putting her makeup back into her locker and traded it for her math book. "Wanna come over afterwards?" she offered, closing it and walking towards the math pod.

"Sure!" Coral chirped. "I'll have to ask Todd first, I mean it is a school night."

"That still seems weird to say…" Chloe said quietly.

"I know," Coral's voice cracked. "I can't believe it's almost been four years since…" she trailed off, no longer wishing to talk about it.

Chloe frowned, wishing she had never said anything in the first place. She put her arm around her. "Well, hey! C'mon! You should be happy. Today is hump day!"

Coral chuckled. "I never really get why they call Wednesday hump day."

The pink troll laughed along. "Well, it's halfway through the week, getting over a hump. It's all downhill from here!"

* * *

Choir was still something Coral was getting used to. Sure, she knew music well considering how long she had been playing the clarinet. But she was playing with the most challenging instrument of all: her voice. She didn't want to be too loud because she didn't want her voice to crack, but she also didn't want to go too low. It was a mistake she had been making, and Mr. Rufus wasted no time reminding her of it.

"Yes, sir," she would always say, feeling herself shrinking.

"Don't sweat it, Coral," Maddy said. "Mr. Rufus just wants you to be more confident."

The yellow troll nodded in understanding. "I-I know, Maddy."

She glanced at Seth, who seemed so confident. Not to mention that voice… so deep…

Maddy just scoffed at this. "I don't know what you see in him."

Coral did not respond, just finding herself blushing and smiling like crazy. Seth had that effect on just about every girl he came in contact with, and Coral was no different. Maddy couldn't technically blame her considering she didn't know any better.

When Seth felt her eyes on him, he smirked at her. She quickly looked away and hid her face in embarrassment. He chuckled at this, looking back at the lyrics in front of him.

"Good job, gentlemen," Mr. Rufus said, standing up from his piano. "Now alto's, here's your part."

"Yay, Coral!" Chloe said from the soprano section, giving her a thumbs up.

Coral smiled nervously at her friend, looking down at the lyrics and beginning to softly sing. Maddy put her ear close to her, wanting to hear her be louder. She took in a shaky breath at the rest and began to sing louder.

She smiled a little, feeling herself relax. She turned her head to find Seth smirking, looking proud of her.

Suddenly she felt Elliot's gaze on her and quickly turned back.

He was smiling, too. A wider smile than Seth himself.

* * *

Elliot hummed to himself as he entered Cardigan's stables. The mouse looked up from his nap, eagerly standing on his feet when he saw his companion. "Hey, buddy!" he smiled, letting him out of the stables. The mouse nearly knocked him over but luckily, Elliot was prepared.

"I missed you, too," he laughed, wiping the slime off his cheek. "You ready to see Lexi and Juno?!"

The mouse smiled at him and nodded eagerly.

"Okay, let's go!" Feeling no desire to put on his saddle, Elliot picked up his backpack that had fallen on the ground. "Juno is gonna be happy to see you," he said. "She always asks where you are whenever I dont bring you with me. Plus, fresh air will do you good."

Cardigan walked ahead of him, looking back every once and awhile as if he was worried Elliot wouldn't follow. He kept a steady pace as Elliot caught up with him.

"Good afternoon," said the blue prince, nodding to every troll he came across. He was once told to always greet and show everyone respect. Even those who didn't particularly deserve it.

When they reached the red pod, Elliot was quick to knock at the door.

"Hi, Elliot!" Juno smiled when she saw him, hugging his leg.

It was only a moment that Elliot's eyes widened with shock before he let himself relax, pleased that Juno was comfortable enough around him. Before he could hug her back, the salmon colored troll made her way to Cardigan with much excitement. She always loved when he brought his pet along. Cardigan loved being outside his stables, and he was learning to love both Lexi and Juno. Cardigan loved all trolls, anyway.

While Juno played with Cardigan, Lexi appeared soon afterwards. "Hi," she said quickly, giving him a quick kiss. The red troll was panting slightly.

"Hey...are you okay? You seem like you're in hurry."

"I kind of am," Lexi said. "I know it's last minute, but I was wondering if you could watch Juno?"

"You don't have to ask me twice."

"I'm really sorry it's so sudden, but I'm running late for this job interview and I just-"

"Lexi, I can handle it," he interrupted, gripping her shoulders tight and giving her a reassuring smile.

Finally, she relaxed. "Thank you. I won't be gone long," she kissed his cheek and approached her daughter. "Juno, I have to go for a while, but Elliot is going to watch you, okay? He'll take good care of you."

"Okay, Mommy," Juno said, giving her a small hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." With that, Lexi kissed her nose, said one last _thank you_ to Elliot, and she was off.

"When will she be back?" Juno asked as Elliot scooped her up and lifted her onto his shoulders.

"Soon," Elliot answered.

"Not soon enough!"

The blue troll smirked, beginning to tickle her sides. "What, don't wanna spend time with me?"

"No, I do!" she giggled. "I'm sorry!"

"Now, that's what I wanna hear," Elliot grinned.

It hadn't been long until Juno decided she wanted to go outside. Elliot sat himself down on a small mushroom and took out his math textbook. Homework was really starting to pile on him. Most of the time he didn't mind homework. It kept him busy throughout the rest of the day but never in his life had he received this much. He studied his planner of the page numbers he had to do by tomorrow.

"What's that?" Juno asked just below the mushroom, petting a sleepy Cardigan.

"Math."

"What kind of math?"

"Calculus."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Sounds complicated."

"It's...time consuming." That was one way to put it, with all the homework he was getting specifically in this class. "You'll learn it when you're older."

"I don't like math," said Juno, standing up. "I prefer dancing." The salmon colored troll did a little dance around the mushroom, earning a smile from Elliot.

"I don't mind math. Dancing is fun too, I suppose." Elliot did not dance as much as his mother and even Zander. He and Maddy were not as big of dancers.

"Dance with me!" the little girl tugged on his scarf, her green eyes suddenly huge with excitement.

Elliot rubbed the back out his neck. "Sorry, Juno, I have to do my homework…"

She frowned for a moment before smiling again. "That's okay, I can wait." She sat down at his feet again.

Elliot only went back to doing his work for a moment until Juno looked back up at him. "Done yet?"

"Not yet."

Another minute went by.

"Now?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

As time went by, Elliot managed to get only a small portion of it done. But he conquered at least part of the large elephant. "Alright, Juno, I'm not done, but I can take a break- Juno?" Elliot felt his palms start to sweat as he hopped off the mushroom. "Cardigan?"

The mouse opened his tired eyes and stared at him questionably. "Come on, we have to find Juno!"

How could he let this happen? He tried to calm his pounding heart but it wouldn't stop. It couldn't stop. He was responsible for Juno in the little time he had. He had one job!

"Juno?!" he called again.

Cardigan sniffed the air.

"What is it, buddy?" he asked, following his companion who had led him to a small bush where he heard giggling.

"Come out of there!"

The giggling stopped, and the young troll made her way out of the bush.

"You should have told me where you were going, Juno!"

Juno frowned, her eyes beginning to water. "I-I'm sorry-"

"You can't just wander off like that! I am in charge of you right now! You should be ashamed of yourself! Do you know what could have happened if-"

"I didn't mean to, E-Elliot!" She slowly backed up. "I'm s-sorry!"

Elliot opened his mouth, and Juno prepared for more scolding, but he closed it. What was he doing? He let his worrying overtake him and turn into anger. He never meant to make her cry...make her afraid of him...it was the last thing he wanted…

"Juno…" he took a step forward but the salmon colored troll hesitated. "I-I'm not mad at you...anymore…"

Juno stared at him until she saw a familiar face approaching. "Mom!" She pushed past Elliot and gave her a hug.

"Hi, kiddo!" she smiled, then her gaze met Elliot's. He stared at the floor, rubbing his freckled arms.

"Elliot, what's wrong?" Lexi asked.

He could barely hear her.

* * *

Elliot had his fair share of girlfriends. He would never break up with them unless he had a good reason to. He had been taught by both of his parents to treat everyone he met with kindness. So far he had done a fine job at that. More than fine. He was the prince, after all. A King or Queen and even Princes and Princesses were expected to be there for their people, no matter what cost. If a royal family did not respect everyone they came across, what was the point?

Branch once told him treating girls was the same way as a king treats his people: being kind and listening to them.

He was happy now, even if his father didn't approve of his decision. He was not trying to be Juno's father, all he wanted to be was someone who was there for her. If anything, he was a friend.

"Elliot?"

Lexi's voice brought him back to reality. He had been sitting on the couch for quite some time. He looked up from the stuffed troll he was holding. "I'm sorry, Lexi," he said softly, looking back down. "I almost...I thought I lost her." He stood up, still holding the toy and finally meeting her gaze. "I turn my back for one moment..anything could have happened…" All he wanted was just time for himself.

"It's not your fault," she said. "She is in bed now, she's fast asleep."

"But she…" He let his voice die. "How do you do this every day?"

Lexi looked close to smiling. "It's a motherly instinct, I guess. As a parent, you just know."

 _You just know._ Elliot took in her words and was silent for a long while. He sat back down on the couch. That was the exact problem, he was ready to admit, he wasn't a parent. He had no fatherly instinct, and had no idea how to be one. A friend? Of course. An older brother? Sure. A mentor? Fine.

Bottom line, he was not a parent, nor was he ready to be.

The red troll sat next to him. He took both of her hands, trying to prepare himself for what he needed to say. "Lexi, I…"

Her green eyes started to water, interrupting him. "W-We need to end this, E-Elliot."

The blue troll took a few deep breaths, having no idea what he could possibly say when he was going to tell her the exact same time. He cared about her, he really did.

"Please don't hate me…" she whispered.

Now he knew he needed to say something. "I would never hate you," he said.

She sniffed. "Well-Well good, b-because…"

"I understand," he said softly.

Tears pricked in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Elliot. You are going to make a great dad, but when you're ready."

He nodded, sitting back up again and setting the toy down. He glanced at Cardigan who had made himself comfortable on the carpet of Lexi's pod. "C'mon, boy," he whispered, rubbing the mouse's head. He squeaked, looking at his surroundings before sleepily getting to his feet and standing beside his owner. Elliot fixed Cardigan's hat before he let Lexi say her goodbyes.

"Bye, Cardigan," she said, hugging the mouse then looking up Elliot. "And bye, Elliot." She began to cry, wrapping her arms around the blue troll, tugging his scarf hard. He wasted no time in hugging her back. He rubbed her back and told her it would all be okay. He couldn't bring himself to cry in front of her.

When they finally pulled away, he walked to the door, Cardigan slowly following, and glanced at her one last time. "I'll see you around."

The red troll said nothing at this. She sat back down on the couch and took a deep breath. It was for the best, and they both knew that.

"Take care," he said.

She gave him a soft smile. "You too, Freckles."

Then he smiled, giving her a nod before he made his way out for good, slowly closing the door behind him. "Well...I guess it's just us, Cardigan."

The mouse's whiskers twitched as he stared up at his companion.

"Let's go home…"

The blue troll wasted no time, eager to go home. His hands sunk into his pockets, and he kept his head down, kicking a small rock, and taking this time to think about things. He began to feel sudden anger for himself. How could be be so stupid? So stupid to think this would actually work? Branch was right. He wasn't in his right mind.

He didn't feel so grown up anymore...

He finally lifted his head when he heard familiar voices coming from a familiar pod.

"Thanks for the dinner, ma'am."

"Oh, please call me Chenille. And whenever you wanna come over, you just come over-"

"Mom…" Seth interrupted.

"What? I'm just telling her-"

"Okay, bye, Coral. See you Monday!" He gave her a small hug before shoving her out.

"Awwww, that is so sweet-"

"MOM! How many times do I have to say not to embarrass…"

Coral chuckled before shutting the door, that being the last thing Elliot could hear. The yellow troll looked happy, which made his heart feel slightly lifted.

Coral smiled when she met Elliot's gaze. "Oh, hey, Elliot!" She waved, but in the process of making her way towards him she clumsily tripped on a mushroom stump. Luckily he was there to catch her just in time.

He chuckled, feeling slightly nervous when his hands gripped her waist.

"I-I'm sorry…" she said bashfully as steadied her feet again. "Clumsy…"

"No, you aren't," he softly smiled. "You really should wear your glasses, though."

"You sound like my brother," she said, walking ahead of him until she bumped into Cardigan. "Hello!" she cooed, rubbing his neck. He took a liking to this right away. "Anyway, I guess I am just naturally clumsy. Glasses or not."

"Well, you should wear them regardless."

There was a comfortable silence between the two trolls until she spoke up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Coral suddenly asked, her deep blue eyes meeting his purple-pink ones.

"I...well...no," he admitted. He felt like her could talk to her about this. The thing he needed most right now was a friend who would keep this conversation to themselves. He didn't even have to ask Coral, he knew she wouldn't tell anyone except Chloe. Well, she'd flirt with him anyway. Girlfriend or not.

"What happened? Everything okay?"

Elliot let out a small sigh.

"Hey, there there...you can talk to me, Elliot. I'm your friend, remember?" The yellow troll softly smiled, tilting her head to the side a little.

He could use a friend.

"It's kind of a long story. You don't have to-"

"I have time. You don't have to be afraid to talk to me," Coral said. "You can trust me."

He took a break. In and out. Something in the way she looked told him he could talk. It was good to let things out every once in a while. "Okay. Alright, so I'm dating- well I was dating this girl…"

So they sat on the grass, their knees butted, and Coral's ears and heart opened to listen to him. And he talked. He talked about what happened while Coral listened with both an open mind and open heart. He described all that happened from beginning to end while Coral would nod every once in awhile to prove she was listening. She'd sometimes even ask a simple question that'd spark him into elaborating.

It wasn't small talk. The time passed them by. They were there for almost an hour without even realizing it even though it only felt like a few moments.

Suddenly Coral sat up. "What time is it?"

"I dunno, why?"

"I was supposed to meet Chloe. We're having a sleepover," she explained. "I was suppose to go over there right after my date with Seth! Well, not really a date, just dinner with his family," she explained quickly, "but I should go."

"Oh, I can walk you," he offered.

"Okay," she smiled.

The walk to Chloe's pod was silent. It was a comfortable silence. Not one that made you wanna run. Coral would blow at her bangs every once in awhile, they always seemed to get in the way. Elliot found this very amusing but didn't speak his thoughts.

"We're here," said Coral, smiling and knocking at the purple door of the pink pod. Despite what Satin said to her about not bothering to knock because she was practically family, Coral always knocked anyway.

"I'll get it!"

The blue troll could hear Chloe's loud voice through the door, but Griffin ended up answering.

"Hi, Coral," the purple troll smiled while Chloe came out of the kitchen with a spoon in her hand.

"Coral!" The pink troll had completely forgotten about the spoon but Griffin was quick to catch it.

"Chloe…!" the purple troll clenched his teeth together.

"Sorry, Daddy," she said quickly, scooting past him and hugging her friend.

Meanwhile, Griffin curiously observed the cookie doe, dabbing his finger with it and taking a lick. "That's some good cookie doe."

"Coral came just in time," Chloe smiled. "My mom and I are baking cookies," she explained.

Coral smacked her lips in delight. "Sounds great!"

Elliot knew he was going to have to be quick to leave before Chloe spotted him.

"And just where do you think you're going without saying hi, mister?"

Too late.

Well, he felt somewhat relieved that it was Satin rather than Chloe. But once he turned his head she was smiling widely at him.

"Heya," he waved awkwardly.

"How's my freckled boy?" Satin asked, approaching him and pinching his cheeks.

"I've seen better days," he admitted.

"Awh, well if you ever need anything, you know you can always come to me."

He smiled. "I know. Thanks, Satin."

"And me," Chloe added.

Satin just rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to this one, she's a bit confused."

"Mom!" The tall troll blushed in embarrassment.

"Did you know that Chloe wet her bed until she was-"

"MOM!"

"She's a little sensitive, too," Satin said, holding up her hand, whispering rather loudly.

"I think you've embarrassed her enough tonight, sweetie…" Griffin said.

"Yes! You have!" Chloe hissed.

"She has a bit of a chubby face, too."

Satin reached at her hand to poke her cheek, but she quickly moved away.

"It is a bit chubby," Coral chuckled, though they definitely weren't as chubby as Seth's.

Elliot nodded in agreement.

"It is not!" protested the pink troll, beginning to pout.

"Okay, I'm done, I'm done."

In Satin's mind, Elliot thought, she she somehow seemed to think if she could embarrass Chloe just the right amount, her daughter would realize Elliot did not return any romantic feelings for her. It wasn't the best method in Elliot's opinion considering it never worked, but who was he to tell her what do to?

* * *

Branch sat in front of the TV while Poppy lay her head on his shoulder, looking like she was going to pass out at any moment. He smiled at her a moment before his sensitive ears heard the door open, revealing his oldest. Poppy opened her tired eyes and smiled at him.

"Hey, Elliot," she yawned, sitting up.

"How was Lexi's?" Branch asked.

Elliot looked down, refusing to meet their gaze. "You...You were right…"

"What?" Branch asked.

"I'm not responsible enough." Finally, he looked up at his concerned parents. "We broke up."

Poppy stared at him with the exact purple-pink eyes just like his. They were slightly watering. "Elliot...I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Mom. It was bound to happen."

Branch sat up a little holding his wife's pink hand and looking at his son. "You have learned your lesson, then. I know it's hard now, but you'll be okay. Tomorrow is a new day," Branch said.

Elliot nodded. "Of course, Dad. Goodnight."

The blue prince made his way upstairs, now feeling worse than he did before now that he was alone.

* * *

 **Okay. Sorry for the lack of updating AGAIN but this chapter was challenging and actually quite painful to write tbh, I'm pretty sure we all knew this would happen. It was bound to. My poor Broppy baby ;-; Im still paranoid that the breakup felt rushed...**

 **Hope you guys had a great Christmas! Tell me what you think! :D**


	18. Just Maybe

Poppy glanced at the clock then went back down to resting her head on Suki's lap. "Hey, I have to pick Zander up from school. You guys wanna come with?" she asked the other female trolls. It was not very often that she got to hang out with just the girls anymore, so it was nice. Poppy always valued her time with her friends, even on lazy days such as this.

"Ugh, this couch is too crowded," Satin murmured, plopping down on the floor, her face hitting the carpet. "This is fine."

Smidge laughed at this antic before helping her friend up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, shaking herself off and leaning against the couch where Suki, Poppy, and Chenille sat.

"Do you guys wanna go or not?" Poppy chuckled, getting up off the couch.

"I feel lazy today," Suki said, leaning her head against the pillow.

"I'll go with you," Chenille offered, "if none of these lazy bums are gonna go." She eyed her sister.

"No fair!" pouted the pink troll. "It wasn't just _me_."

"I know, but you're the first one I saw," she shrugged, then glanced at her daughter who was working on more algebra. "Hang on, Poppy." The blue troll made her way to Gem carefully, sitting at the chair next to her. "Hey...wanna come with Poppy and me to pick up Zander? You could use a break."

Gem looked up from her paper, smiling and nodding.

"Okay, let's go," Poppy laughed, gripping her friends wrist. "We'll be back."

The three girls made their way to the door of Poppy's pod and stepped out into the sunlight. "Ugh, it's so bright. I wish it'd rain, it's already September."

"I like the sun…" Chenille said, seemingly careful with her words.

"I do, too," Poppy agreed. "But I also love rain."

Chenille nodded curtly before walking ahead of her. "Welp, let's go!"

Gem hurried and walked beside her mother while Poppy followed more slowly. It did not take her long to catch up to them, so she was back to leading the way. It was a rather quiet walk but Poppy did not mind the silence. She was in no mood to babble nor even start up a conversation.

She noticed Chenille coming to a sudden halt when she noticed a familiar red troll walking down the branch of his pod. "Look at that, it's Cody!" Poppy smiled.

Chenille shook herself before taking a few more careful steps. "Just don't draw any attention to yourself-"

"Hey, Cody! Over here!" Poppy called, causing the red troll to look up at them.

"Poppy…" Chenille groaned, hiding her blushing face into her hands. The closer he got, the more Chenille wanted to disappear.

"Hello, Queen Poppy," Cody smiled, his gaze soon focused on Chenille. "Chenille."

"Hi…" she said as Poppy pulled her hands down.

Cody smirked, crossing his arms. "How come you're here? Lose your earrings again…?"

"Need I remind you that it was _your_ fault that I lost them," she said through gritted teeth.

"Well, it isn't my fault you had too much to drink, now was it?"

Chenille opened her mouth to say something in remark but she was quick to close it. He did have a point, but he did pressure her.

And she listened.

"Of course it's not your fault, Cody!" Poppy interjected. "It was an accident."

"I didn't know you had another kid," Cody said after a moment, smirking once again at Chenille. "Who's the lucky dad?"

Chenille shuffled her feet in the grass. "N-No I...I'm not here to pick up my children. It's Poppy's, Zander."

"Oh, I see. The boy Hazel is always chasing," he chuckled.

"I just have the two," Chenille explained, not too long after feeling a light tug on her dress. Gem hide behind her mother, shy as always around new people.

Cody gave her the calmest smile. "Aww, look at those pretty eyes. Who are you?"

Then the emerald troll smiled, carefully stepping from behind Chenille and stood beside her. She took a breath and blinked, looking like she wanted to say something but she was hesitant.

"This is Emerald. Her nickname is Gem."

"I see. Her gem necklace is pretty." He reached his hand to touch it but Gem held it tight to her chest. Cody moved his hand away and put it in his pocket. "Oh, that's okay. I won't touch it. It's very nice to meet you, Gem. I'm Cody."

The green troll shook his hand.

His gaze met Chenille's once again "She's as beautiful as you, I must add."

Chenille did not know how much time had gone by where she had just been standing there with her ears getting hotter by the moment until she felt a nudge at her side. "Say something," Poppy said, giving her a nod of encouragement.

The blue troll looked back at Cody. "T-Thank y-you…" she said slowly, forcing the words out. _He's being nice,_ she thought, _take a compliment for once! Don't run away-_ "Well, I-I should g-get home before Seth does. I'm gonna f-fix up a snack or something…"

"Maybe Cody and Hazel can come with-"

"P-Poppy, no! Goodbye…" The blue troll gripped Gem's wrist- who was still smiling at Cody- before they made their way back to her pod.

* * *

It wasn't long until both Cody and Poppy were greeted by their children, their feet off the ground and being pulled into a tight hugs by their parents.

"Do you want me to walk you?" Poppy offered as Hazel charged ahead, taking Zander with her. The purple troll only protested a moment before he let himself relax. When Hazel was not trying to kiss him, he found she was a good friend. Still, not a lot of people liked her, but she liked him, and Zander was slowly learning to get used to her antics. She might have been annoying, but she was also a lot of fun.

"Okay," Cody shrugged, letting his hands sink into his pockets and kick a rock around.

"Sooo," Poppy began. "You and Chenille…"

Cody stopped on his tracks, suddenly feeling himself grow nervous. "W-What about me and Chenille? There is no me and Chenille. She...doesn't even like me."

"You try to hide the disappointment in your voice," Poppy pointed out.

The red troll rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to make eye contact for a while. It wasn't for another few steps where he smiled at her, stopping once more. "You have a nice friend. I think through that harsh exterior there is a beautiful flower that needs protection."

Poppy felt her heart completely melt. "Awwww, that is so romantic! So sweet-"

"T-This is awkward, but I guess when I look at her words come out naturally." When Poppy didn't say anything he kept walking. "It's stupid."

"No, it's not. I think it's really sweet! You just need to show her that side of you." There was a small pause. "Hey, you're a single father, right? Why don't you try to work things out with Chenille? You do have one thing in common and that is you're both single parents. It could work. Even if it doesn't, it never hurts trying."

First impressions really did mean everything, he thought, and he did not make the best one. And it was too soon for him to start anything serious. Chenille wasn't even his friend yet.

"I-I dunno what to say...it's been so long."

"It's been long for her, too," Poppy said. "She doesn't even wanna let anyone in anymore, but something tells me you are going to be the one to crack her tough shell."

Cody didn't say anything in response. The Queen always looked at things so positively and never thought of what might could go wrong. Sometimes he wished that he could be more like her. How could she be so optimistic all the time? Did she really mean what she said?

He had a feeling he was going to be thinking about this for a while.

"C'mon, Zander, lets go," Poppy called calmly.

The purple troll looked up at her while Hazel trotted towards Cody, tugging onto his blue shorts. "Daddy, can Zander come over for a playdate?"

Cody smiled, bending down to her lebel. "It's alright with me. Queen Poppy?"

Then Poppy smiled. "That should be fine. I can get him before dinner."

"Bye, Mommy," Zander said, wrapping his arms around her legs before joining Hazel inside.

"I'll see you around, okay?" Poppy smiled at the red troll.

Cody gave her a friendly nod, turned his back, and headed inside.

* * *

Poppy hesitated before knocking on her son's door.

"Come in," Elliot said, looking up from the homework he was working on.

"How are you doing?" the pink troll asked carefully, slowly approaching the bed and sitting down next to Cardigan who was sleeping at his feet. "Is Cardigan taking care of you?"

The blue troll chuckled sadly. "Yeah, at least I'll always have him," he said, petting his light brown fur. "We're just hanging out, working on homework."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing okay," said Elliot. "Honestly."

"Honestly?"

"I promise, Mom. I just feel stupid…" he admitted, lowering her head slightly. "I should have known better. I could never be a father when I'm a senior in high school-when I'm the future King of the trolls."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. This was something you can learn from. And just because you aren't ready to be a father right now, doesn't mean you won't ever be. You are going to find someone, Elliot. Love takes time. You can't rush it, nor can you run from it."

Elliot opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Poppy was right.

"I know. Thanks, Mom." He put his homework down and pulled his mother into a tight hug.

"You're welcome," she said, burying her face in his freckled shoulder, missing the times when he didn't tower over her.

When they pulled away, he smiled at her before looking around. "Hey, where's Zander?"

"He went to Hazel's."

"The girl that always follows him around?" he chuckled.

"Mm hm. I was talking to her father earlier."

"Don't tell me…" Elliot thought for a moment, leaning back and playing with his pencil. "Cody?"

"That's the one!" Poppy grinned, proud that he was picking up names alright. One of the most important things was that a troll knew his people, Poppy told him once.

They were interrupted when Maddy opened the door. "Dad told me to tell you guys dinner's almost ready," said the pink troll.

"Okay, tell him we'll be right down," Poppy told her daughter.

"As you wish, your highness," Maddy smiled before closing the door again.

"I have to pick up Zander, you wanna go with me?"

"Sure," Elliot shrugged, closing his textbook. "Wanna go for a walk, Cardigan?" he asked, slightly shaking his companion awake.

The mouse yawned then curled back up in a ball.

"I guess that's a no," Poppy giggled.

* * *

As Gem crawled into bed that night, a thought that had crossed her mind all day came back to her. She thought about many things in one day but never had the courage to speak them aloud.

The biggest thing on her mind was Cody. He had kind eyes, warm hands and red skin. He didn't talk to her like she was stupid. He didn't force her to speak.

He said she was beautiful.

He said her mother was beautiful.

Gem always grew up with a father that was never around, a mother that was stronger than most, and a brother that carried the whole weight of the world on his dark blue shoulders. It didn't have to be that way, but she discovered at a young age that life was hard…that there was pain before there was ever to be happiness.

There was something about Cody that she could not explain.

She felt a smile form on her face when she looked at her glowing necklace. "Hello…" she whispered.

Her voice was soft. Whenever she spoke, she spoke alone with the comfort of her necklace. It was when she felt safest. If she spoke her thoughts aloud, she knew she was going to say something she regretted.

She was once told that she could wish anything to her necklace. But the catch was, it always had to be at night. When the gem was glowing.

She took a shaky breath. "I was just wondering," she continued, "if maybe...maybe Cody could be my father…? I-I know it may be too close to tell...b-but...I think he could make our family a lot happier. Thank you."

Gem put the necklace under her pillow and rolled over, tucking herself in. All she could do now was hope. Hope that Chenille and Seth would see. Then maybe, just maybe things would work.

She cuddled her pillow one last time before she let herself drift into sleep.

* * *

 **Sorry for the short chapter. That's all I've got XD But we finally got into Gem's head! She is a very sweet and gentle character who's actions speak louder than words. I love her.**

 **Anyway, Happy New year! Feel free to give me any thoughts/feedback!**


	19. Sparkie The (Almost) Tutor

**I apologize once again for not updating for a while, I've been busy and whenever I get the free time I don't feel inspired. To those that are still reading...welcome! Enjoy :D**

* * *

Coral found herself a panting mess as her boyfriend rolled off of her and lay beside her. "T-That was...interesting…"

Seth smirked. "Is that good or bad?"

"W-Well, I-I've never really... _made out_ with anyone before."

"Really?"

The yellow troll ran her fingers through her now messed up pigtail buns. "N-No...never."

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked, popping up his elbow and facing her.

She nodded sheepishly. "It was fun."

"Well, glad you enjoyed yourself," the navy troll said, scooting even closer so she could feel his hot breath on her face.

Coral nervously smiled until she felt the door begin to crack open, revealing his younger sister.

Seth let out a sigh. "Gem, get out," he said flatly.

The green troll furrowed her eyebrows together until Coral gave her a more friendly greeting. "Hi, Gem. You can stay! Seth and wont make out in front of you or anything."

"That's what she thinks," Seth murmured.

Coral frowned. Most of the time they were together, they never actually sat down and had a conversation. Seth had the looks, but was that really all to him? It seemed like there was so many things that he wasn't telling her, but there were also things about her that made her hesitant about telling him. Was it just in her head?

* * *

"Well, Seth is a complicated guy. There is more to him than meets the eye."

This was Chloe's answer. Her friend thought long and hard before answering this question.

"Yeah but...I don't know, I wish he'd open up to me more," Coral explained, taking her sandwich out from her lunchbox and setting it on the mushroom table. "I mean, I am his girlfriend."

"I know that," Chloe said as if she were trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice."You don't have to keep repeating it." She looked at back at Coral, instantly feeling bad about what she said. Chloe put down the fork back in her salad. "Look, I'm not saying this just because Seth is my cousin."

"Then what is the problem?" Coral asked, harsher than she ever meant to. She knew the answer, but it didn't keep her from asking.

"I just don't want you-"

"-to get hurt," Coral finished for her. "Right?"

"What do you expect?! I'm your best friend! And I love you, dummy," the pink troll gave her a nudge, earning a smile from Coral.

"I love you too, Chloe."

Chloe smiled in satisfaction. "Good to know I am loved." There was a small silence between the girls.

Chloe picked at her salad with utter disgust. "I'm sick of salad, I want a sundae…" Chloe said.

"That was random," Coral chuckled.

"You wanna come over after school and have a sundae with me?" she asked excitedly.

"I'd _love_ to."

Seth's voice seemed to come out of nowhere. The navy troll put down his tray of food and sat across from them.

Coral played with her fingers. "Can he come?" she asked, nervously grinning.

Chloe huffed, rolling her yellow eyes. She looked at her friend, then back at her cousin, then up at the blue sky. "Fine!" she said after her gaze met Seth's once more.

"Great!" he said, his green eyes brightening as he got up to sit next to Coral, but Chloe set her backpack next to the yellow troll.

"Chloe…" Coral sighed.

" _But…"_

"But _what?"_ Seth asked dryly, his hands sinking into his pockets.

" _I_ get first picks on the toppings!"

"Okay! Whatever!" He did not hesitate before pushing her backpack onto the ground and sitting next to Coral.

"Hey!" Chloe thumped his head and picked her backpack up, brushing the grass off of it.

"Are you okay?" Coral asked, rubbing his head.

He smirked. "I'm alright."

Chloe let out an over dramatic sigh. "He has a thick head…"

"And melon cheeks!" Coral giggled, beginning to squeeze his chubby face.

Sparkie and Halo couldn't help but let out a small giggle as they watched Coral squeeze Seth's face.

"What are you guys laughing at?" Maddy asked curiously as she sat down next to Sparkie.

All they had to do was point at Seth for Maddy to know what was going on. The pink troll raised an eyebrow in amusement before resting her elbow on the table.

"Anyone want this disgusting cafeteria food?" she asked, shoving the tray out of her way.

"C'mon, Madds, you have to eat," Sparkie said, picking up the hamburger in her glittery hands. "Here comes the airplane!"

"Nooo…" Maddy groaned, resting her forehead on the table.

"Is my honey bun moody today?" Halo grinned.

"Can it," she mumbled, hiding her scarlet face in her hands.

"Maddy is always grumpy, have you two met?" Sparkie giggled.

"Yep, she has been grumpy since we were three, but who is keeping track?" Halo chuckled.

Sparkie nodded in agreement. She had grown up knowing them her entire life. She never knew of anything different. The glittery troll glanced back at Seth and Coral. She knew them her whole life, too. Coral not as much, but Seth and Chloe.

"Maybe we have just known each other so much that we are just sick of each other," shrugged Maddy, wiping her hamburger full of glitter, knowing very well if she didn't eat her friends were going to continue to nag her.

Sparkie giggled at her friend's remark. "Maddy, I'd never get sick of you. Or Halo or even Chloe." She paused, looking back at the navy troll and finding herself smiling. "O-Or Seth."

Maddy eyed her carefully, shaking her head and plopping down her burger. "Oh, don't tell me."

"What?"

"Seth," she sighed.

"Real specific," Halo laughed, sitting up and taking his tray along with him, leaving the girls to talk.

Sparkie looked at her friend. "I don't like Seth, if that's what you mean. He's just...kinda...well he's grown up!"

Maddy didn't say anything in response. She turned her attention back to her burger and that is where it stayed for the rest of the lunch period.

"I can't believe Maddy would think that I like Seth," Sparkie said as she slipped on her safety goggles.

Halo smiled. "Do you…?"

She frowned. "I already said I didn't. You can find someone attractive and yet not feel any strong feelings."

Halo shrugged, thinking it over before realizing his friend had a point. "I guess that is true. Not everyone can be in love with the perfect person their whole life."

Sparkie smiled, knowing very well who the orange troll was talking about. The way he talked about her friend amazed her. There was never a time where he didn't bring her up. She wanted to smack the pink princess upside the head for not seeing what was right in front of her.

Maddy was lucky, but she just didn't realize it yet, and Sparkie wondered if she ever would.

The science experiment wasn't complicated. Sparkie was quick to write down the analysis questions afterwards, which was never at all hard for her.

But her mind was somewhere else, and she suddenly remembered at the mention of Seth, there was something she needed to ask him.

Long story short, it was only a few hours earlier when she was in geometry. She packed up her stuff, ready to join Maddy but was cut off by Mr. Malcolm.

"A-Am I in trouble?" she asked, glancing at Maddy then back at her teacher.

He smiled at her. "Of course not, Sparkie. I just wanna have a word for a moment."

"I'll wait outside," Maddy said slowly, holding her math textbook close to her chest.

"Goodbye, Madison. Have a good weekend."

"Just Maddy, sir," she mumbled dryly as she made her way out.

Mr. Malcolm chuckled. "She is so easy."

Sparkie giggled but only for a moment until making her way to his desk. "Sir?"

"You know Seth, I presume."

The glitter troll slowly nodded. "Mhm."

"He seems very troubled."

"Troubled, sir?"

"Indeed. He isn't doing the best he can in my class. He seems to sleep more in here than actually learn."

Sparkie wanted to tell Malcolm to get on with it, but she slowly nodded instead, not wanting to be rude. She was always taught to be kind and patient with others.

"This is a long shot, but he could use a nudge in the right direction. I was wondering if you could possibly tutor him."

"Oh, I...I don't know what to say-"

"You have one of the best grades in this class. You understand the material. Seth needs someone like you."

Sparkie swallowed, thinking about it for a moment and looking down at her hands. She could feel her palms sweat. Why was she so nervous?

"Oh-um-alright! I can-I can try, but I can't guarantee it'll be a yes…"

"I understand if you don't have time. You're a sophomore in high school, after all, it's just an idea. I can help him myself."

"No, I can do it! Never hurt trying, right?" She smiled nervously.

Sparkie thought back to that. It felt like a lifetime ago, even though it was only right before lunch.

"Looks like you're gonna be spending a lot more time with him…" Halo murmured teasingly once Sparkie was finished telling her story, not taking his brown eyes off of the experiment.

"Halo!"

"What?" he asked innocently. "I'm just sayin'!"

"You don't _know_ that he is gonna say yes."

"You don't _know_ he is gonna say no."

Sparkie opened her mouth to protest, but she closed it.

She'd just have to wait.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Maddy asked. "Aren't I coming over today?"

Sparkie glanced back at her friend after watching Seth disappear with Coral. "Yeah," she said slowly. "Give me a minute."

"But-"

"A minute," she repeated, running the direction where Seth had gone.

"What is she doing?" Maddy asked Halo.

The orange troll smiled. "She needs to talk to Seth."

Maddy wrinkled her nose. "What about?"

Meanwhile, Sparkie eagerly looked around for the navy blue troll. "Where are you?" she asked herself, her ears straining when she heard someone coming out of the band pod. She had just remembered that Coral had band club after school, and Seth would always walk her.

"Hey, Seth!"

"Hey, is that Sparkles?" he smirked, teasingly narrowing his eyes as the glitter troll approached him.

"Sparkie, but yes, it's me!" she smiled (possibly too enthusiastic, she thought).

"So, I see. Have a good weekend, messy head." He ran his rough hands through her hair, making it even more messy than usual before brushing past her.

"Wait! I need to talk to you about something!" Sparkie fixed her hair the best she could before catching up with him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Alright, make it quick," said the young troll, turning to face her. "It's Friday, and I don't wanna be here any longer than I should."

"I'll just get right to the point," she panted, already out of breath. "I wanted to ask if you would like a tutor for math."

Seth crossed his arms. "Hm...let me think about it, Sparkles…no!" He grinned, about to turn his back only to be stopped once more.

"Look, Mr. Malcolm was talking to me earlier, and he said that you are struggling a bit and asked me if I could-"

"Thanks for offering, but I think I'm okay as is."

Sparkie opened her mouth to say more but he was already turning his back. "Just think about it, yeah!?" she called, wondering if the blue troll even heard her. She rested assured when he gave her a thumbs up, not even turning around.

"I told you it was a long shot," Sparkie sighed when she felt the familiar presence of Halo and Maddy. Though she did not take her bi eyes off of Seth, who walked into his pod with a steady pace. Only then did she allow herself to face her friends.

"I don't see it like that," Halo said. "Maybe he'll change his mind."

"Fat chance, Halo," said Maddy. "We all know Seth."

"Do we really?" the orange troll asked. "I don't think you really can get to know someone unless you see what it's like to live their life for a day. As if you could somehow crawl in their skin-"

"Halo, that's disgusting," Maddy interrupted flatly.

"It's not disgusting, it's just a bad analogy," Sparkie chuckled, pulling her book closed as the three walked home. "I think what he's trying to say is you should be more empathetic towards someone. You should never assume anything. You never know."

"Exactly," Halo said quietly, looking a little embarrassed. "I ought to get going," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Have a good evening, beautiful ladies!"

Sparkie smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. "You too, Halo."

"Hmph, flirting with Halo too, I see?" Maddy asked after a moment.

"I was not flirting with him!"

"Yes, you were!"

"You only say that because you like him!"

"Well, you like Seth!"

"I don't!"

"You saying I like Halo is like me saying you like Seth!"

Sparkie grew silent at this remark. How many times did she have to say that she had no feelings for him? He was attractive and nothing more to her.

"Just give Halo a chance, will you?"

"Not gonna happen."

Sparkie slowed her pace.

Maddy did too until they both came to a stop.

"One day you are going to stop running from your feelings and see what's right in front of you."

The pink troll looked like she wanted to say something but instead put her hands in her pockets and shuffled her feet.

"I don't like Seth. I would tell you if I did. He is nothing more to me then a friend, if even that."

"Okay," Maddy nodded, finally looking at her. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Now c'mon," Sparkie smiled, linking arms with her. "My mom is baking cookies today, and they'll be waiting for us when we get to my pod."


End file.
